Inflamed
by xxxheartlandxxx14
Summary: Magnolia Academy, a sprawling campus in the kingdom of Fiore that served to cultivate the usage of magic. It is the only institution of its kind and its students are as unique and eccentric as the academy itself. Magnolia Academy prides itself on a high academic standard. But despite its glamorous appearance not everything is as it seems and a darkness is rising in Fiore.
1. Chapter One

Magnolia Academy was a sprawling campus sitting atop a hill, overlooking a valley in the kingdom of Fiore. It was the only institution of its kind, as it served to cultivate the usage of magic. But despite its glitz and glamor, the student population of Magnolia Academy was quite small because only ten percent of the world's population is able to use magic. It is at this school where Lucy Heartfilia could be found. Presently, her head was bent over a book in the library, blonde strands falling in front of her face and obscuring her view. Irritably she brushed the strands back, her brown eyes glued to the page of the book in some sort of awe.

Lucy had only recently begun attending Magnolia Academy, and so far had managed to stay somewhat unknown even amongst the small student body. Her anonymity and lack of friends afforded her a lot of time to study magic on her own and catch up to where her classmates were in their learning. The evaluation exam was coming up, and she couldn't afford to become distracted. She needed to move up another rank, so when the class did notice that she there she wouldn't be the laughingstock of the school because she was a F-Ranked mage.

Magnolia Academy divided their students into classes and ranks, and arguably the ranks were the most important thing. The Ranks were: S, A, B, C, D, and F; with F being the worst or the weakest, and S being the strongest. There were only a few students in Magnolia Academy who were Rank S, and they just so happened to also be in her class. That was why she had to study, so that she didn't let classmates down or get made fun of. The latter, was what concerned her the most.

The library doors flung open and a group of students filtered into the room, chatting loudly. Lucy's eyebrows dipped down into a scowl as she struggled to concentrate on the passage that she was reading. Huffing she straightened up, slamming the book closed and stood up her aquamarine colored pleated skirt swishing around her legs as she stormed toward the librarian intent on checking out the book, when she suddenly bumped into someone. She lost her grip on the book and it landed with a thump on the ground.

"Sorry," Lucy apologized, staring at the person that she had bumped into.

 _He was cute_ , she thought as her eyes traced over his figure, _although his hair is a little odd_. His hair was what caught her attention first, being that it was spiky and pink-colored and his eyes were dark, she'd dare to call them obsidian, charcoal or even sable, and his skin was quite tanned. He was wearing a sleeveless, gold trimmed, black waistcoat that was left open and untucked, exposing his chest and abdomen (which made Lucy's cheeks flush), and he was wearing the black dress pants that the school required as part of its uniform. Black sandals adorned his feet and wrapped around his neck was a scaly white scarf, that somehow seemed to bring his whole ensemble together.

"It's fine," he mumbled, staring at her oddly for a moment.

"Sorry," Lucy apologized again, bending down and picking her book up from the ground. "I wasn't paying attention, sorry."

"It's fine," he said, staring at her. His eyes briefly narrowed, his attention zooming in on the emblem on her white collared shirt. "F-Ranked, huh?"

Lucy flushed with mortification, and scowled at him, "What of it?" She clutched the book closer to her chest, looking incredibly defensive. Her eyes moved to the front of his jacket her own eyes landing on the emblem pinned to his clothing. "Rank A, huh," she huffed, her brown eyes narrowing.

A sheepish smile crossed his face, "Guess that sounded pretty rude, huh? Nice to meet ya, I'm Natsu Dragneel."

Lucy stared at him for a few moments, hesitantly before she said rather grudgingly, "Lucy Heartfilia."

He appeared as if he was going to say something when a sharp, female voice said, "Natsu!"  
"Coming," he shouted, flinching a little at the anger-coated voice. "See ya later Luigi!"

"It's Lucy," she huffed, watching him as he ran off to join his friends who had wandered off and been waiting by the steps that led to the second floor of the library.

His friends were just as interesting looking as he was, Lucy decided. The only other male in the group was dark haired, and was wearing a white coat over the standard uniform that was mandated by a school. Unlike Natsu, this guy was actually following the school's dress code.

The eldest girl of the group, had long scarlet hair that was pulled into a ponytail. She was wearing the standard uniform for girls which consisted of a white sleeveless cropped blouse that exposed part of her midriff, an aquamarine pleated skirt, and the aquamarine cape jacket which was cropped so that the jacket only reached the elbows. The only area where the girl deviated from the uniform was instead of wearing the black dress shoes, she wore black knee-high boots.

The youngest girl in the group had long dark-blue hair pulled into pigtails and was wearing the same uniform as the eldest girl, except that her outfit was silver, indicating that she was a younger student.

Lucy couldn't catch a glimpse of any of their emblems, but if she'd hazard a guess she'd say that they were all Rank A or above. A Rank A wouldn't hang out with someone in a lower rank. Actually, not many would hang out with someone in a lower rank. Lucy sighed, gazing at the quartet of students for a few more moments before spinning on her heel and heading to check out the book. After having checked the book out from the library, Lucy headed to the courtyard to continue reading it.

 **~8~**

The courtyard was nice and quiet, the only sound coming from the water fountain in the center. Lucy sat down on the grass, leaning against the back of the tree. She crossed her ankles, propping the book on her legs and beginning to read the book, and hoping that there would be no interruptions this time. _Let's see, where was I,_ Lucy wondered, her eyes roving the page as she sought to find where she left off.

 _Celestial Spirit Magic is a type of Magic in which the user summons Celestial Spirits by opening their gates through the use of Celestial Spirit Gate Keys. These Keys are separated into two classes: the more common Silver Keys and the rarer Gold Keys. Keys for Celestial Spirits are counted in Units (collectively without regard of Gold or Silver), and a Celestial Spirit Mage is noted by how many Units they have obtained._

 _When a Celestial Spirit Mage receives a Key and opens its Celestial Gate for the first time, they have to set up a contract with the respective Spirit. This contract consists of asking the Spirit which days it can be summoned by its contractor. This simple agreement leads to a dedicated and serious bond between the Spirit and summoner. However, under certain circumstances, i.e. during battle, and a Spirit is summoned for the first time, the making of a contract may be suspended on a later date. Contracts can be broken if the Mage gets arrested, releases the Spirit by themselves, or dies. When a Celestial Spirit Mage summons a Spirit, it appears directly next to them, as that's where the gates to the Spirit world had been opened. It's impossible to summon spirits elsewhere._

Lucy grabbed her keys, taking note of the ten gold keys and five silver keys she had. _Aquarius, Leo, Taurus, Virgo, Sagittarius, Aries, Scorpio, Gemini, Capricorn, and Cancer,_ she thought, staring at her ten golden keys. _I'm only missing Pisces and Libra, but I don't need to collect all twelve gold keys. They aren't tools to use or items to collect. They are friends,_ she thought, _even thought it was hard to convince some of them of that._ The sound of something splashing in the water fountain made Lucy look up and she groaned as she caught sight of that pink-haired boy Natsu jumping into the fountain and splashing two of his friends with water.

"Natsu," the scarlet-haired girl hissed, crossing her arms over her chest and sending him a stern look. "This isn't time to horse around."

"Why?" He seemingly whined. "It's not like we're doing anything important, Erza."

Lucy's eyes widened at the familiar name. Erza? Could this be Erza Scarlet? Erza Scarlet was the most famous girl in Magnolia Academy not only for her beauty, but because she was also the student body president and she was one of Magnolia Academy's Rank S mages (and one of the only girls to be Rank S).

"Oi, just listen to her Flame-Brain instead of being a hothead," the dark-haired boy with them snapped, sounding annoyed with Natsu.

"What was that Ice Princess?" Natsu hissed, glaring daggers at the dark-haired boy.

"Natsu! Gray!" Erza shouted, glaring at them. "The two of you aren't fighting, are you?"

"N-No ma'am," the two stammered staring at her fearfully.

"Good," Erza stated, with a small, victorious smile that promised death if the two were lying. She tilted her head to the side, and asked in a curious voice, "Who was that girl in the library you were talking to, Natsu?"

Lucy's eyes widened, and her cheeks flushed a little. As much as she wanted him to acknowledge that he had talked to her, and knew her name, she knew he'd probably say something like, "Just some F-Ranked nobody", or something like that. She was an F-Rank, and to practically everyone in Magnolia Academy, she was a nobody because of it. Natsu wouldn't be any different she was sure.

"I think she said her name was Lucy Heart-something," Natsu answered, and Lucy saw him scratch the back of his neck sheepishly. "Heartfilia, maybe?" He laughed a little, "I don't know."

"Natsu," Erza sighed.

"Lucy Heartfilia," the blue-haired girl piped up, and the three older teens turned to look at her. "Her dad is a wealthy businessman, isn't he? He owns Heartfilia Railways and Heartfilia Shipping, I think." The blue-haired girl shifted on her feet, "She's Rank F, isn't she?"  
"Yeah," Natsu confirmed with a nod. Lucy watched with trepidation as his eyes roamed the courtyard, passing over her figure underneath the tree before suddenly landing on her again. "There she is," he pointed at her and Lucy flushed, shrinking in on herself as all attention suddenly turned to her.

She had been hoping that they wouldn't walk over, but her hopes had been for naught as the quartet slowly meandered over. Lucy closed her book, rising to her feet and holding it tightly against her chest as if it was some sort of shield.

"Hi," Erza smiled. "I am Erza Scarlet, it's nice to meet you Lucy Heartfilia."

"You too," Lucy replied unsure. The Rank S mage was making her nervous and Lucy shifted on her feet as if she was preparing to bolt.

"Gray Fullbuster," the dark-haired boy introduced himself, gazing at her shrewdly.

 _Gray Fullbuster,_ Lucy thought, committing the name to memory as she awkwardly smiled at the dark-haired boy. _He's a Rank A, like Natsu, I think._

"Wendy Marvell," the petite blue-haired girl introduced herself, smiling sweetly. "Nice to meet you Lucy Heartfilia."

"L-Likewise," Lucy stammered, her eyes landing on the emblem pinned to Wendy's jacket. _Rank B? Of course a kid younger than me would somehow be stronger than me too,_ Lucy thought. "Um, I have to go. I have to study and practice."

"Practice for what?" Natsu asked, gazing at her curiously.

He reminded her a little bit of a puppy, with his head tilted slightly in confusion and his eyes looking so big and so curious. _He was cute_ , the thought crossed her mind before she could stop it.

"The evaluation exam is coming up in a week," Lucy mumbled. "I need to study and practice for it," her feet shuffled on the ground as she spoke and her cheeks were flushed red with embarrassment.

"Ah you're talking about the Rank F evaluation exam," Natsu said, realization suddenly striking him.

"Yes," Lucy managed to say, though her voice sounded sharper than she had intended it to. "I was talking about the Rank F exam, because I am a Rank F mage. That's why I'm practicing and studying."

"Good luck with the exam," Erza said.

"Thanks," Lucy whispered. "I have to go. It was nice to meet you guys."

"Luigi," Natsu whined.

Lucy glared at him, "My name is Lucy, _not Luigi_."

Natsu grinned, "Why don't you stay a little while?" He slung an arm around her shoulders, "Taking a break isn't going to hurt, is it?"

"I can't stay," Lucy insisted, wriggling out of his grip. "I have to study. I can't continue to be an F-Ranked mage. It was nice to meet you all, but I have to go."

Then before any of them could say another word, Lucy was running away and heading to her dorm room. She appreciated the offer, but she couldn't stay. She needed to succeed with the evaluation exam. She couldn't bear to be a Rank F mage anymore.

Throughout the rest of the day and into the night Lucy studied and practiced. She read books and books about Celestial Spirit magic and the various spells that a Celestial Spirit mage could use. She meditated, and she summoned her spirits. She trained with Leo the Lion, who preferred to be called Loke, and she also trained with Virgo. The next day, her routine was much the same. She only exited her room, that she shared with her roommate to eat lunch and practice on one of the practice fields.

Kneeling on the soft earthen ground, Lucy took a deep steadying breath and closed her eyes. The wind stirred her blonde tresses, and carressed her skin and the afternoon sun was hot on her skin. Lucy took another deep breath, clearing her mind and focusing on keeping her breath steady and even. This was the first time she was practicing meditation without Capricorn instructing her, and it made her a little nervous but she quickly banished those feelings. Sweat beaded on her skin, and her brow wrinkled a little as her magic began to swirl around her kicking up dust and grass.

Lucy meditated for fifteen minutes, before her eyes slowly opened and she slumped toward the ground, her magic dissipating as if it had never manifested itself in the first place. Lucy pushed herself into a sitting position, her chest heaving as she fought to catch her breath. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and stood up on slightly shaking legs. She was impressed with herself; since she had begun seriously training she had improved a lot. Before, she could hardly meditate for five minutes before feeling exhausted but she had just meditated for fifteen minutes and while she did feel tired, she didn't feel as tired as she had in the past when she had first begun meditating.

Lucy gripped her keys. Did she dare to try to summon one of the Zodiac? Maybe I should rest a little bit more before I do that, she decided, bending down and picking up her water bottle from where it was lying on the grass.

"Yo Luigi!" a familiar voice shouted.

She groaned, spinning around and found Natsu sprinting toward her, followed more slowly by Erza and Gray. "It's Lucy," she grumbled irritably, before taking another drink of water. "What do you want Natsu?"

"How's your training comin' along?" Natsu asked, sticking his hands into the pockets of the pants he was wearing.

"Fine," she huffed. Natsu stared at her in shock, because her tone had been snappy and she sighed. "Sorry," she apologized. "I'm just tired and hot." She managed a small apologetic smile. "Training is going fine."

"Good," Natsu answered, that easygoing smile appearing on his face. "How are ya trainin' anyways? I didn't see you fighting anyone."

"Training isn't always about fighting," Lucy informed Natsu as Erza and Gray caught up to him, standing by his side. "If you must know, I was trying to increase my magic power through meditation. The stronger I get, the stronger my Celestial Spirits get. At least, that's what one of the books I read says."

"Celestial Spirits?" Natsu questioned, his head tilting to the side like a puppy's would.

"Yeah," Lucy nodded.

"Like Yukino," Erza supplied. "She's a Rank C mage." Erza crossed her arms over the tank top she was wearing, "Yukino has two Zodiac spirits - Pisces and Libra."

"Really?" Lucy questioned. "I have ten."

"Ten?" Erza asked incredulously. "And you're Rank F?"

Lucy nodded shamefully, looking away from the redhead. _Was it truly that bad that I have ten Zodiac keys but I'm a Rank F mage? Am I just that weak_ , Lucy wondered.

"Yukino's part of Sabertooth, though," Natsu argued, and Lucy looked up, blinking away the tears that had unconsciously appeared in her eyes. "Lucy doesn't have a guild and she's relatively new to Magnolia Academy, right?" He looked to Lucy for confirmation and the blonde nodded. "That's probably why she's Rank F and Yukino's Rank C."

"Wow," Erza mumbled.

"I didn't know you were capable of such complex thought Ash Breath," Gray commented, with a condescending smile on his face.

"Say that to my face Ice Fairy," Natsu growled, his eyes narrowing.

"I just did Flame Freak," Gray snarled.

"Boys!" Erza shouted.

"Yes ma'am," they shouted, wrapping their arms around each other as they feigned a friendship for Erza. Although part of Lucy wondered if they were truly faking it.

"I bet if Lucy had a guild, she'd be a lot stronger," Natsu commented, after he and Gray had separated from their embrace. Erza glanced at him curiously and Natsu grinned. "Well Yukino, is a Celestial Spirit mage and she's part of a guild and she's Rank C. While Lucy is not part of a guild and Rank F."

"Correlation does not equal causation, Natsu," Erza said sagely.

"No but joining a guild certainly couldn't hurt," Natsu laughed, smiling sheepishly when Erza seemed to grow a little irritated with his carefree attitude.

"Lucy should only join a guild if she wants to," Erza said, her tone brokering no room for argument.

The two turned to Lucy who stared at them a little stunned, having not expected the conversation to turn out this way. Of course, she knew a little bit about guilds. They were institutions who helped to further a mage's training, and provided shelter and food, and often undertook tasks that the government couldn't or wouldn't do. Guilds offered sanctuaries for people fleeing from war, and they were an integral part of life in Fiore with many guilds having and operating their own restaurant, hotels, or resorts. Guilds were also in charge of hosting most of the festivals that took place around Fiore. Of course, some guilds were of more importance than others.

"I-I can't think about joining a guild right now," Lucy stammered. "I don't even know what guilds there are!"

"Blue Pegasus, Quatro Cerberus, Lamia Scale, Sabertooth, and Fairy Tail are the major guilds," Natsu listed. "We're part of the best guild - Fairy Tail!"

"The other guilds have their merits," Erza insisted sharply. "And those aren't the only guilds in the world, but Natsu is right that they are the major guilds. They have the most resources and members."

"So which guild are ya gonna join, Luce?" Natsu asked, wrapping his arm around Lucy's shoulders, and grinning at her a pleading look in his eyes.

Lucy hesitated, glancing from Natsu to Erza and then back again. But when he gave her these pleading, puppy dog eyes, Lucy knew that she had no hope of saying she needed more time to think or she wouldn't join a guild without feeling supremely guilty.

So she sighed, "I guess I'll join Fairy Tail."

"You guess?" Natsu crowed sounding a little offended. "Don't sound so unsure, Luce! Say it with feeling."

"Natsu," she sighed, looking irritated at him but he just sent her another pleading look. "I'll join Fairy Tail." He squeezed her shoulders, pouting a little. "I want to join Fairy Tail." Surprisingly, she sort of meant those words.

Natsu grinned, "That's better."

"But, I'll only join Fairy Tail after I move up a rank," Lucy said, feeling a little bad when Natsu's smile fell. "I can't join a guild if I'm a Rank F mage. So as soon as my rank goes up, I'll join Fairy Tail."

"Promise?" Natsu asked, extending his pinky.

Lucy linked their pinkies together, "Promise."


	2. Chapter Two

A few days had passed since Natsu had invited her to join Fairy Tail. It was now the day of the exam, and Lucy wasn't the only Rank F mage to be taking the exam. Several other Rank F mages were taking the exam, although some of them were much younger than she was (around the age of Wendy or even a little younger).

Lucy shifted nervously on her feet, wringing her hands together and pacing up and down on the sidelines as a pair oF-Rank F mages battled it out. This was the last part of the exam; well, almost the last part of the exam. The first part of the exam had been a test, which asked questions about magic, the different kinds of magic, guilds, and Fiorian history. Lucy felt as if that test had been a breeze, and that made her feel simultaneously confident and extremely nervous. The second part of the exam consisted of battles taking place between Rank F mages, and then battles between a Rank F mage and a mage from some of the higher ranks.

For example, if Lucy won her Rank F battle she'd fight a Rank D mage and if she lost she'd still be Rank F, but if she won she'd move up a rank and then would fight a Rank C mage, but if she lost against Rank C, she'd still be Rank D, but if she won she'd become a Rank C mage and then she'd have to battle a Rank B mage, etcetera, etcetera. The battles would stop when Lucy could either no longer continue or decided she was done and wanted to stay at her current rank than continue to try and rise in rank.

The battle between the two ended, and Lucy fidgeted nervously. Her battle was up next and she was nervous. What if I fail? What if all of my practice was for nothing, she worried, as she stepped onto the field and faced her opponent, a tall, voluptuous woman with dark purple hair and light purple eyes. A purple flame lit up in the woman's face and she tossed the ball of fire at Lucy who leapt out of the way, scrambling to grab one of her keys.

"Open, Gate of the Twins! Gemini!" Lucy shouted.

There was a flash of light, and when it faded two little humanoid beings with blue-colored bodies were floating in the air. "Piri-piri," they said.

Lucy leapt out of the way of another attack, Gemi and Mini following her. Lucy grabbed another key, "Open, Gate of the Lion! Leo!"

A man with spiked amber hair appeared in front of Lucy, tinted glasses covering his hazel eyes. The man was wearing an elegant dark suit, with the jacket left unbuttoned, over a lighter shirt with a red tie. His black dress pants were loose on his body. But he still managed to look extremely good-looking, and attractive.

"You called princess?" he asked conversationally.

"Loke," Lucy growled in frustration. He just smiled, and she growled in frustration. "Gemi, Mini, turn into Loke." In an instant there were two Lokes standing in front of Lucy. "I'll distract her while the two of you attack her," Lucy said in a low voice, to ensure that her opponent couldn't hear her.

"Roger," the two Lokes said. With one Loke adding a, "Piri-piri", at the end of the sentence.

Lucy darted out from behind the protection of her spirits, uncoiling her whip from where it rested at her waist. She dodged a blast of fire that was aimed at her, and flicked the whip, striking the ground in front of her opponent. The two Lokes got into position behind her opponent, as Lucy lashed out again her whip coiling around her opponent's ankle. With a tug of her wrist, she unbalanced her opponent who fell to the ground on their back. Lucy leapt backward, coiling her whip as her opponent staggered to her feet.

But before her opponent could do anything her two Lokes spoke, "Regulus Impact!"

They raised their hands, which became engulfed in a golden light before the head of a lion shot from their hands striking Lucy's opponent. There was a small explosion and flash of light, and when it dissipated and the smoke cleared, Lucy's opponent was on the ground unconscious.

"Winner, Lucy Heartfilia," the official for the battles declared.

Loke and Gemini disappeared from the field and Lucy slowly walked off of it, taking a huge gulp of air. That had been easier than she had expected it to be, but from then on it would only get worse as she fought people who would be much stronger than her. However, she was confident that she could at least get to Rank D. Lucy watched a few more of the battles progress, and at the beginning of the battles it was clear to see who the victor would be but there were a few instances in which the battles would end in a draw. Lucy anxiously chewed on her thumb as the last battles took place. Not all F-Rank mages decided to take part in the exam, since the exam was purely voluntary, so when all battles had concluded only eight F-Rank mages were moving on to challenge a D-Rank mage.

The D-Rank mage that she would fight, wasn't really a challenge. Lucy had only had to call upon Taurus to win the battle, and the C-Rank mage that she fought actually wasn't much better. Somehow, Lucy felt that if she had fought Yukino, the battle may not have been won so easily. Fighting another Celestial Spirit mage would surely be a little more difficult than fighting a mage with some other kind of magic that was the same rank. Lucy's stomach grumbled, and she thanked the heavens when the officials dismissed the remaining three challengers - and the spectators that had come to watch - for supper. After grabbing some food and an energy drink from the cafeteria, Lucy secluded herself to a table in the corner of the room.

She had no one to sit with, and she hadn't seen anyone she knew so her only options were to sit by herself. Well, that was until Natsu and Gray managed to find her. Really, it was more that Natsu saw her and decided to sit with her and he ended up dragging along with him, an unwilling Gray.

"Yo Luce," Natsu said, sitting beside her at the circular table. "Why are you eating veggies?"  
"Good source of energy," Lucy mumbled. "It was the cheapest thing to buy, too." At Natsu's worried look she hurriedly waved her hands as she explained, "I'm not hurting for money, not really, but I don't want to spend it frivolously when what I'm eating now is just as filling as a cheeseburger."

"I doubt it," he grumbled, a sour look on his face. Then her perked up, "How did your exam go?"

"I have my next battle in an hour," she murmured, stabbing at a crouton in her salad.

"What rank?" Natsu asked, leaning forward and resting his forearms on the table.

"B," she answered.

"Really?" Natsu asked an excited look on his face. "That's amazing, Luce. You'll definitely join Fairy Tail at this rate, huh?"

"I guess so," Lucy replied, although the smile on her face revealed how happy she was. "Isn't Wendy a Rank B mage?"

"Yeah, but she's not participating in the exam, and she's planning on taking the exam to become a Rank A mage soon," Natsu said. "Gray and I are planning to take the exam to become a Rank S mage too."

"When's that exam?"

"Two months?" Natsu asked.

"Try three," Gray answered with a roll of his eyes. "God, do you pay attention to anything Lava Mouth?"

"I pay attention," Natsu defended himself. "It's not as if you pay any more attention than I do, Droopy Eyes."

Gray glared at him but didn't answer him. Rather the dark-haired mage turned his attention to Lucy. "So you're what, Rank C now?"

Lucy nodded, "Yeah." She smiled, "Thank goodness. Being Rank F is hard."

"Why?" Natsu asked.

"Not everyone is as nice as you are, Natsu," Lucy told him, sipping at her energy drink. "I cannot tell you how many times I tried to make friends only for them to completely ignore me or act like they didn't know me just because I was a Rank F mage. When you're an F-Rank mage, you don't matter to anyone except other F-Ranked mages. Everyone of a higher rank will just shun you and make your life miserable because they know that you can't fight back. If you could fight back, you wouldn't be an F-Ranked mage." She smiled bitterly, "That's why I couldn't join Fairy Tail as an F-Rank mage."

Natsu huffed, looking irritated and upset. "Your rank doesn't determine what kind of a person you are, and it isn't meant to be something for people to abuse. Even if you were an F-Ranked mage when you joined Fairy Tail, you still would have been welcomed as family by everyone. Fairy Tail doesn't care about ranks. Fairy Tail only cares about if you are a good person."

Lucy smile, "Thanks Natsu. But that still wouldn't have changed my decision. It's been ingrained in my head that being F-Ranked is bad, and so I wouldn't be able to do that to the guild."

Natsu scowled, "That's just stupid, Luigi."

"My name is _Lucy_."

"Is it?"

"Yes."

"I knew that."

Lucy just stared at him doubtfully, but didn't press the subject. She sipped at her energy drink, her foot tapping a restless rhythm underneath the table. Her battle was getting closer and closer and she was getting more and more nervous. If she were to somehow win this battle, she wouldn't continue. She had decided that after meeting Natsu; he seemed to be capable for an A-Rank mage, though she had never seen him in battle, and she didn't want to risk running into someone of the same strength or even stronger.

Even from looking at Natsu, she knew instinctively that there was no way that they were on the same level or could ever hope to be on the same level. Something about him just screamed that he was more capable and stronger than she could ever hope to be. Not, that that was a bad thing; it actually drove her to want to become stronger. Even if she would never be at his level, she only wanted to prove to herself and those watching that she wasn't weak.

"When's your battle, Luce?"

"You already asked me that," she grumbled, but glanced at the clock anyways. "It's in half an hour."

"Good luck," Natsu smiled.

"You're not going to come watch?"

"Nah. You don't need me to be there, you're going to do just fine," Natsu answered easily, smiling at Lucy. "Although maybe I will come and watch you fight."

"Are you going to come Gray?" Lucy asked, looking curiously at the dark-haired boy.

"I can't," he shook his head. "Gramps assigned me to tutor someone." He sighed, "Though I'd rather not. But I can't back out. Sorry, Lucy."

"It's fine," she waved his apology away. "It's not like we're close friends or anything. I just thought that watching battles might be your thing."

"Oh they are," Gray agreed with a smile, his eyes flickering up to the clock. " _Shit_ ," he cursed. "I'm so going to be late for the tutoring. See you guys later!"

Lucy watched him run out of the cafeteria with amusement before her eyes turned back to Natsu who still appeared to be deep in thought. Natsu was different than the A-Ranked mages that she had met in the past. He was definitely friendlier and he didn't appear to be as arrogant as other A-Ranked mages she had met in the past either.

"Are you going to challenge an A-Ranked mage if you win this fight?" Natsu asked, breaking out of whatever trance he had been in.

 _Was that what he had been thinking so hard about_ , Lucy wondered. She then smiled and shook her head, "No. I am not strong enough for that yet. Maybe someday, but not today."

"Good," Natsu sighed with apparent relief. Lucy narrowed her eyes and he straightened up, a sheepish smile on his face. "Not that you aren't a capable mage, because you are. I think. But I know who the A-Rank mages you guys would be fighting against, and it'd be pretty brutal."

"Who?" Lucy asked.

"Can't tell ya," Natsu replied. "Just know that it'd be bad and I don't think you should do it."

"Fine," Lucy shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me because I wasn't planning on challenging an A-Ranked mage anyways."

Natsu nodded with a satisfied smile and Lucy sighed, shaking her head. Why had he been so concerned about her fighting an A-Rank mage? They had met less than a week ago. Lucy stood up, gathering her trash and tossing it before heading back to the field. Her battle started in ten minutes and she needed to center herself and be ready. A few moments passed and then Lucy could hear Natsu following after her, and then she could see him out of her peripheral vision as he walked at her side, warmth radiating from his body.

The field was mostly empty save for a few students gathering on its outskirts. The other F-Ranked mages weren't there yet, and Lucy assumed that it was because their battles were later. _I must be the first one to go then_ , she assumed, kneeling on the grass and taking a deep breath.

"What are ya doin'," Natsu asked, tilting his head curiously.

Lucy's eyes opened, annoyance in their brown depths. "Meditating, now sh," she said, narrowing her eyes at him briefly before closing her eyes and trying to concentrate on her breathing.

"But why?" Natsu pressed.

Lucy huffed, her eyes slowly opening again. "It helps me concentrate," she said patiently, although it was evident that her patience was wearing thin. "Now, sh."

"Lucy," Natsu whined.

Lucy did her best to ignore him, as she closed her eyes and worked on keeping her breathing deep and even. Natsu repeated her name again, and Lucy puffed out a breath, frustration getting the better of her. _Why couldn't he just leave me alone right now_ , she thought. Irritably she opened her eyes, her jaw clenched as she stared at Natsu.

"Natsu," she huffed, annoyance thick in her voice. "I'm trying to concentrate, so please, please leave me alone for a few minutes."

"But your battle is going to start soon," he protested.

"How soon?" she questioned, folding her arms across her chest.

"Five minutes?" he guessed.

"Great," she muttered, rising to her feet. _Couldn't even meditate because he wouldn't leave me alone,_ she thought, extremely annoyed as she shot a glare at Natsu who just stared at her looking incredibly confused. _Is he really so oblivious that he doesn't know why I'm annoyed_ , she wondered.

"Good luck," he offered, still looking confused when she huffed, although the irritated look on her face had faded a bit.

 _He's just too innocent and oblivious_ , she thought, her lips curling upwards in a small, tentative smile. "Thanks."

She stepped onto the field, her stomach clenching with nervousness, as her opponent quickly stepped onto the field too. Energy crackled around her opponent, and Lucy swallowed, her hands shaking as she reached for her keys. This battle was going to be different than her past ones, because this was a B-Rank mage. Her eyes narrowed a little as she stared at her orange-haired opponent. _Didn't they take the exam to become an A-Rank, the last time it was offered_ , Lucy thought. _Shit._

A green ball of energy formed in her opponent's hand, sparking with lightning. Without a word it was lobbed at her and Lucy was only barely able to jump out of the way. She felt the heat from the orb as it flew past her, smashing into the ground behind her and creating a deep crater in the earth. _What was her name_ , Lucy thought. _Was it something like Asuka? No, that's not right. Yoko? Ah, what does it matter? She's still my opponent!_

Yoko generated another ball of green energy, while Lucy had been distracted and threw it at Lucy, who barely reacted fast enough to dodge it as it skimmed her shoulder. The heat from the orb seared her shoulder and Lucy winced, a cry escaping from her lips before she could stifle it. Right, this isn't time to play around.

"Open, Gate of the Ram! Aries," Lucy shouted. Quickly she grabbed another key, "Open, Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!"

There was a brief, small flash of light as the two aforementioned Celestial Spirits appeared in front of Lucy. The first Celestial Spirit, Aries, was a young woman with pink hair, brown eyes and a pair of twisted horns on her head. She was wearing a woolly looking top and skirt, and overall had a very timid appearance. The second Celestial Spirit, Scorpio, tall, lean-built, dark-skinned man with short hair that is red on one side and white on the other. Of course, the most eye-catching feature Scorpio had was the large scorpion-like tail.

"Wool Wall!" Aries shouted, without needing direction from Lucy as Yoko fired three balls of energy at Lucy.

The pink wool absorbed the balls of energy. Quickly Scorpio jumped over the wall that Aries had created. He pointed his tail at Yoko, who raised her brows looking particularly unimpressed. That was until sand shot from his stinger, in the form of a quickly forming tornado made of sand that swirled ominously around the field before slamming into Yoko. Yoko screamed as she was thrown to the ground, the sand tornado continuing to plow into her before abruptly dissipating, as Scorpio straightened to his full height, staring down at her.

"Winner, Lucy Heartfilia!" the official declared when her opponent made no move to get back up. "Would you like to challenge an A-Rank mage, Miss Heartfilia?"

"No," Lucy shook her head. "I'm fine with being a B-Rank mage."

The official nodded, and Lucy walked off the field, nearly running straight into Natsu who promptly wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Congratulations!" he crowed.

 **~8~**

Lucy sighed, sinking down into the warm bath water. The celebrations for the mages who had risen in rank were still going on, and she had yet to join the festivities although she had no doubt that if she didn't show up Natsu or even her roommate, might come and drag her out. Huffing, Lucy stepped out of the bath, drying off with a towel as she wandered into the bedroom only to scream in shock when she saw Natsu lounging on her bed. Lucy was suddenly glad that she had a rather large towel wrapped around her body.

"Natsu," she shrieked. "Get out!"

"What?" he whined. "I just wanted to make sure that you were coming to the party that Fairy Tail is hosting, since someone let it slip to Gramps that you're also going to join the guild."

"Someone? You mean you," Lucy snapped. "I'll come to the party in a minute now, get out!"

Gumbling incoherently under his breath, Natsu made his way to the window, slipping out of Lucy's dorm room. Lucy glared at his retreating back, and huffed, slamming the window shut behind him. _Honestly, he needs to stop acting so familiar with me,_ she thought as she changed into a pair of clothes. The jeans were a little tight, but the sweatshirt was large. _I should be putting forth more effort for the party, but after the exam today all I want to do is relax,_ she thought. _Besides, I have no one to impress. As nice as it would be to be in a relationship, I have to focus on becoming a better mage first_ , Lucy decided.

She quickly pulled her hair into a ponytail, grabbed her keys and walked out of the dorm. Unsurprisingly, Natsu was waiting outside and he eagerly bounded up to her once he had noticed her, a bright smile on his face. He was like a never-ending ball of energy, and it was simultaneously endearing and annoying. As Natsu guided her to the courtyard where the party was taking place, chattering about everything under the sun, Lucy had to admit that while Natsu was at times a little bit annoying, he truly didn't mean any harm. Although, he could tone down the energy a little bit.

When they arrived to the courtyard the party was in full swing, with a majority of the guilds gathered together and intermixing. Although, as Lucy took a closer look she realized it was really only three guilds that were there: Lamia Scale, Sabertooth, and Fairy Tail. And out of the three guilds that were there, it was obvious that Fairy Tail was the one being the most wild. The members of Lamia Scale were decidedly more subdued, unlike the members of Sabertooth who were acting crazy but not as crazy as the members of Fairy Tail. On the outskirts of the party, Lucy could see a few of the lesser-known guilds and a few guilds that were known for causing trouble like Phantom Lord. But with Lamia Scale, Sabertooth and Fairy Tail around, it was pretty unlikely that Phantom Lord would cause any trouble; if they did, they were in danger of becoming a disbanded guild.

Natsu tugged Lucy over to a group of Fairy Tail members. Lucy only recognized two of them, and they were Erza and Gray. Gray was wearing black pants and was lacking a shirt, which made Lucy blush. Thanks to his lack of a shirt though, his dark blue guild mark was on full display.

"Congratulations Lucy," Erza said. "You did really well, today."

"Thanks. Were you watching?" Lucy answered, crossing her arms over her chest and shivering a little as a gust of cold air blew through the courtyard.

"No, I wasn't able to but Natsu made sure to tell me all about your last battle," Erza replied with a small smile and a pointed look at Natsu who laughed, although there was a distinct pink tint on his cheeks. "I take it this means you'll be joining Fairy Tail?"

"Yeah," Lucy said. "I promised didn't I?" She looked around the party for a few moments before turning her attention to Erza, "I'm not an F-Ranked mage anymore, so I don't have any other excuses."

Natsu grinned toothily, "I hope you're prepared, for the craziness that is Fairy Tail."

"I can handle you just fine," Lucy grumbled. "How hard can the rest of Fairy Tail be?"

A few hours later, she learned that that was definitely not a question she should have posed. For one, she couldn't really handle Natsu. At the most, she was able to ignore him but he pressed every little nerve that she had and she should have realized that the other members of Fairy Tail would be just as bad or worse. For starters, there was Cana Alberona, an eccentric brunette with a drinking problem and an expert card player (Lucy, would later learn that Cana used card magic, so _that_ explained a whole lot).

Then there were the brawls that Natsu and Gray continuously got into throughout the party that they would inevitably end up dragging other people into. Then there were the two Strauss siblings, Mirajane and Elfman; Mirajane, seemed sweet but Natsu had warned her that Mira was actually evil (Erza later added, that Mira was always trying to set people up too), and Elfman was always talking about being a man.

It was clear that Fairy Tail was made up of pretty eccentric people, something that Lucy had not been expecting. But, since Natsu was a member of Fairy Tail perhaps it was something she should have expected. Lucy stepped out of the way as Gray nearly bumped into her as he dodged a swing from Natsu, who growled and pounced on him. They accidentally bumped into Elfman who joined in on the fight and Lucy sighed as another brawl erupted only to be broken up by Erza a few moments later.

 _What have I gotten myself into?_

"Hi Lu," a familiar perky voice said and Lucy spun around her eyes widening when she saw her roommate, standing in front of her holding a cup full of lemonade. Behind her, she was flanked by two Fairy Tail members (Lucy thought Erza had called them Jet and Droy, maybe).

"Hi Levy," Lucy greeted. Her eyes widened in realization, "Wait, are you a Fairy Tail member?"

"Bingo," Levy grinned. "I was wondering when you would catch on. But yeah, I'm a member of Fairy Tail." Her grin widened and she nudged Lucy, "And I hear that you're going to become amember too!"

"Yeah," Lucy confirmed with a nod, her eyes darting over to where Natsu and Gray had engaged in another argument before being separated by Erza. "Natsu roped me into joining a guild."

"Really?" Levy looked over her shoulder. She laughed a little, "That doesn't surprise me actually. Natsu's always looking for more people to join the guild." She sipped at her lemonade, "When are you going to get the mark then?"

"Probably tomorrow," Lucy shrugged, "but I'm actually not entirely sure."

"It has to be tomorrow," Natsu's voice whined into her ear, as a chin propped itself on Lucy's shoulder. "You promised that you were going to become a Fairy Tail member, Luce. Don't take too much time."

"I am going to become a Fairy Tail member, Natsu," Lucy explained, squirming a little when arms wrapped around her middle and a warm body pressed against her back. "Get off."

"Don't wanna," he whined, his arms tightening around her.

Levy giggled, "Good luck, Lucy."

"Levy," Lucy whined as her roommate wandered away.

Would being with Fairy Tail always be this crazy? She really hoped not, but then again sometimes craziness was get. It'd be nice to have a family, too. While she loved her dad, the two had never been exceptionally close, so being a part of a guild would be a nice change from always feeling alone. She wasn't an F-Ranked mage anymore, either, so she could see her friendship circle expanding too especially if Natsu had anything to say about it. She shifted a little in his hold. He already seemed pretty attached to her, and a small part of her wondered why but she didn't dwell on the thought.

"You're going to join Fairy Tail, still right?" Natsu questioned, suddenly sounding unsure.

"Yeah. I promised I would, Natsu."

"Good," he rumbled.

Lucy's lips twitched into a small smile that she tried to stamp down. She couldn't believe she was actually looking forward to joining Fairy Tail. But from what she had seen, Fairy Tail was like a family and she had always wanted to be part of a family. Tomorrow, would mark a new chapter for her. A new start as a B-Ranked mage, and a member of a guild; and Lucy couldn't wait for that to happen.


	3. Chapter Three

Lucy stared down at the pink guild mark emblazoned on her hand. She had done it - she had joined a guild. After the party had started to wind down last night, Lucy had headed to her dorm unsurprised to see that Levy was still gone. Now that she knew that Levy was a guild member, her absences made a lot more sense. She had fallen asleep straight away and when she had woken up, she hadn't been alone; Natsu was lying in bed beside her and when he had seen that she was awake, he had dragged her to the hall that housed Fairy Tail. He could barely contain his excitement and Lucy had to admit that it was quite contagious. Now here she was, less than an hour later with her Fairy Tail guild mark. Lucy stared down at the mark for a few more seconds before, she walked into the main room of Fairy Tail's building skirting around Cana who was chugging beers and making her way to Natsu.

"Natsu, look! I got my Fairy Tail mark," Lucy said excitedly, shoving her hand toward his face. She was glad that his quick reflexes allowed him to scoot back a little so that she didn't actually hit him in the face.

"Good one, Luce," Natsu said with a bright smile as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

This had become a regular occurrence for the two lately. Anytime they were around each other, Natsu would always wrap an arm around Lucy or somehow be touching her. Not that Lucy minded that much. At first it had been annoying, especially when they had first met, but she quickly realized that nothing she did would dissuade Natsu from doing it and she just learned to bear it. But now, she had accepted that it was something normal for Natsu to do. He was just a naturally touchy person. It completely slipped her mind that he wasn't as touchy with everyone else, like he was with her.

"Congratulations are in order then," Erza said.

Lucy smiled nervously, "That's not necessary, Erza," Lucy waved her hands quickly in front of her. "Absolutely not necessary."

"But why? This is a cause for celebration, isn't it?" Erza sounded genuinely confused.

"But it's not necessary, Erza. Isn't that what we were celebrating last night, anyways? Well that and my rank going up?" Lucy replied. "It's just not necessary to have a celebration." She laughed a little nervously, "And I don't think that I can handle another Fairy Tail party. You guys are a little...much."

"How so?" There was a dangerous light in Erza's eyes and Lucy shrunk back into Natsu, who subsequently glared at Erza.

"You're just a very lively group and that liveliness sometimes is more than I can handle," Lucy said fishing for words. She didn't want to accidentally offend Erza, or anyone in Fairy Tail so she was trying to choose her words carefully. "Besides, aren't all of you exhausted from last night?"

"Nope," Natsu answered, leaning a little more heavily on Lucy. "Parties are Fairy Tail's thing."

A miniscule smile appeared on Erza's face as she answered, "Natsu is right. Parties are where Fairy Tail thrives the most, and our members do like parties."

"We have a reason to party," Natsu added, causing Lucy to glance at him and flush when she noticed how close their faces were. "Phantom Lord, was disbanded this morning!"

"That is cause for celebration," Erza mused.

Lucy sighed. It seemed all of her protestations were for naught. If they wanted to have a party they were going to have a party whether she was willing or not. Although, that certainly explained why Natsu was so jovial. Phantom Lord's disbandment had put him in a good mood, and in the past the guilds had been rivals, so with the disbandment, Fairy Tail would certainly see it as an occasion to party. Lucy shifted out of Natsu's grasp, ignoring the whine that bubbled in his throat. Parties weren't exactly her thing, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to waste valuable study time.

She was a little surprised that Erza would be even considering a party on a school night. From what she had seen around school, Erza was responsible and righteous to a fault. It seemed that it being a school night didn't matter, as Erza pulled a few members of Fairy Tail aside and began planning for the party. Lucy sighed, her features dipping down into a frown as she watched her guild members get excited about the party. She wished that she could be just as excited as they were, but she couldn't very well abandon her school work. She had homework that she needed to get done.

"What's Lu," Levy asked, appearing at Lucy's side, with her curly blue hair pulled back into a ponytail.

"They're planning for a party," Lucy murmured, her eyes fixed on the rapidly gathering circle of Fairy Tail members who were chatting excitedly about the party. "I just don't think that it's a good idea. We still have classes tomorrow."

"Yeah," Levy agreed with a nod. "But I wouldn't worry so much, Lu. If it makes you feel any better not everyone will be going to the party. In all actuality the party might just be Cana guzzling down various alcoholic beverages, while Natsu and Gray are getting into a fight." She giggled a little, "It's unlikely though, that Natsu will show up if you aren't there."

"Really?" Lucy asked glancing at Levy.

Levy nodded, "Yeah, he seems to have some sort of fascination with you." She smiled and nudged the blonde, "He'll probably end up making you his partner or something."

"Partner?"

"Right, you're new to guilds," Levy said. "You see the job board?" Lucy nodded. "Okay, so you obviously know that guilds accept jobs that the government won't, because they are too dangerous or jobs that the government won't do because they simply don't want to. Well, many of the guild masters won't let a mage take on a job alone. They want jobs to be undertaken either as partners or a team, unless of course you're an S-Ranked mage like Erza."

"I still don't get what this has to do with Natsu," Lucy mumbled.

Levy glanced at her, irritated. "I'm getting there. Natsu and Gray going on missions doesn't work out well, without Erza. But Erza hasn't had time to go on any missions with those two, because school has gotten her to be really busy especially because she is the student body president. So, Natsu hasn't been able to go out on any missions for several months despite really wanting to. That's why he'll probably ask you to be his partner, so he can go on a mission. And you know he _likes_ you."

"As a friend," Lucy corrected, shooting Levy a flabbergasted look. "The enunciation on the word 'like' was entirely unnecessary, Levy." She exhaled, "Well, I guess that makes sense. Is that why he was so adamant I join the guild? So he could go out on missions?"

"No," Levy answered.

Lucy waited for Levy to elaborate, but her roommate never did and she huffed out an irritated breath. She had quickly learned that Natsu was naturally a friendly and energetic person, who thrived in guild life. So maybe that was why he had been so adamant that she joined the guild. Not that his reasonings mattered now, Lucy decided. Lucy shifted on her feet, as Natsu bounded over, greeting Levy quickly before he turned his attention to Lucy.

"Are you goin' to come to the party, Luce?" Natsu asked, tugging at the scarf wrapped around his neck.

"No," Lucy sighed, not missing the sad look that flashed across his features before it was replaced with one of inquiry. "There will be homework assigned today, and parties are just not my thing." She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, "Class starts in three minutes." Her eyes widened. "Three minutes!? Crap, we're going to be late."

Seizing Natsu's and Levy's wrists, she pulled them after her as she ran to Draco Hall. It was halfway there that Levy broke free from Lucy's grip and announced that her class was in the opposite direction, before her blue-haired roommate took off at a dead sprint so she wouldn't be late. Lucy shoved the doors open, sprinting to the second floor, still tugging Natsu after her as she tried to locate the classroom.

"Wait," she said suddenly stopping. She let go of Natsu's wrist and turned to face him, "Are you in this class too?"

"Yup," Natsu nodded. "You're not very observant are you, Luigi?"

"It's _Lucy_ ," she grumbled, striding to the door marked with numbers 1083.

Quietly she slipped into the classroom, with Natsu following closely behind her. Thankfully, there were still a few students who weren't in the classroom, and their professor wasn't there yet. Lucy allowed herself to relax infinitesimally as she chose a seat near the back. _At least we're not going to get in trouble_ , she soothed herself, _despite almost being late_.

Natsu chose the only open seat beside her, since she had taken the seat that was closest to the window. She wanted to protest and convince him to find somewhere else to sit since he'd likely end up being distracting but she didn't have the heart to and she didn't want to accidentally hurt his feelings. Lucy Heartfilia was many things, but a cold heartless bitch wasn't one of them. Even though he frequently called her Luigi, and that deserved some sort of retaliation. The door was flung open, and their professor glided in.

Their professor, Shiori, was new to Magnolia Academy, and was a stark contrast to the other professors (prime examples being: Professor Makarov, who was also the guild master for Fairy Tail and was quite crazy, or Professor Bob, the guild master of Blue Pegasus, who was effeminate and just as crazy as Makarov). No, this professor was elegant, graceful, and ethereal. Dark hair cascaded down her back, standing out starkly against the pale ensemble that she wore and it also helped to highlight her pale skin that was marked with colorful inky designs that crawled up her arms and wrapped around her legs. Her eyes were golden and warm, and were in perfect harmony with her honeyed voice.

"Good morning class," Professor Shiori said. "I see a few of you are late," there was a sigh in her voice. "Let us take attendance and then we will deal with the tardiness of your peers."

"She's so calm," Natsu murmured. "Gramps would be yellin' if anyone was late."

Lucy shot him a look telling him to be quiet as Professor Shiori began going through the attendance list. The class was small, consisting of only eleven students so any absence was immediately noted because it couldn't be overlooked.

"Natsu Dragneel." Natsu raised his hand, and lazily called out that he was there. Professor Shiori shook her head but a small smile tugged at her lips, as she continued with the roll call. "Gray Fullbuster," Professor Shiori said. There was an answering reply. "Lucy Heartfilia."

Lucy raised her hand, "Here."

"Juvia Lockser." No reply. Professor Shiori continued listing off names, until she came to the last name on the list. "Gajeel Redfox." And like there had been with Juvia, there was no reply. "Does anyone know where your two classmates could possibly be?"

"They're Phantom Lord," Natsu said with a shrug. His eyes widened in realization as he corrected himself, "They _were_ Phantom Lord."

"Were?" Professor Shiori asked.

"Phantom Lord was disbanded this morning," Lucy said, providing the information that their professor was seeking. "That might be what caused their absence."

"I see," Professor Shiori mumbled. "It is of no consequence now. I shall deal with their absences later. As this isn't the first time we've had class, we are going to dive right into Fiorian history. Where did we leave off?"

"Zeref," Lucy immediately supplied. "We were talking about Zeref."

"Right," Professor Shiori said. "Zeref was a powerful mage in his own right, and he had the potential to do good. But, as we know, human, even mages, are easily corruptible. Zeref, himself, became corrupted and was led down a dark, dark path that he would not be coming out of unscathed..."

Professor Shiori continued to speak about Zeref and his exploits, with Lucy paying avid attention and taking notes while Natsu was dozing beside her.

 **~8~**

Lucy was vibrating with excitement when the class ended an hour and a half later. Professor Shiori had a gift for telling stories, and she had brought Zeref's history and the history of Fiore to life. Of course, Natsu didn't realize that since he had been sleeping most of the time. But, Lucy did and it made her appreciate the professor even more, partly because she was also taking them on a field trip in a few weeks to Tenrou Island, where Zeref had been rumored to live. Lucy glanced down at the worksheet she was holding in her hand, resolving to get that done when the rest of her guild was partying.

Bidding farewell to Natsu, Lucy headed to her next classes alone. They were fairly easy classes. One, was specific to her magic, and as such she and Yukino Agria were the only two in the class. Lucy was a little embarrassed that she had never introduced herself to Yukino before, but one look at the white-haired girl, made it clear that the Sabertooth member hadn't been at all offended by Lucy's obliviousness. The two took the class period to get to know each other better and to commit to expanding their knowledge of Celestial Spirit magic. After the class was over, Lucy headed to her final class for the day: gym. It wasn't truly a gym class, but it was intense physical exercise. The very purpose of the class was to teach combat whether it be hand-to-hand or with weapons, however the class also consisted of obstacle courses, strength training, and racing.

After that class was over, Lucy headed to her dorm where she immediately got to work on the worksheet that Professor Shiori had assigned. It was three pages, and some of the questions were extremely in-depth but it didn't dissuade Lucy, rather it excited her and served to motivate her. She glanced at the first question, _**What led Zeref toward dark magic?**_

She remembered Professor Shiori had talked about it briefly, but hadn't elaborated on exactly _what_ it had been. Zeref had been a bright pupil, at an academy extremely similar to Magnolia Academy, around four-hundred years ago. He had belonged to a fairly affluent family, and had a younger brother, whom he had been extremely close to. It had been while at the academy that his family, while at their home in Fiore, had been attacked and brutally murdered by cultists worshipping the dragon Acnologia. The brutal attack and sudden loss of his family had driven Zeref to the point of madness, and he began researching ways to bring his little brother back.

At least, that's what Lucy thought Professor Shiori had said. It wasn't known whether Zeref had been able to succeed or not; Professor Shiori had said that any records of that had been lost to time, and for good reason. "When we try to become the masters of life and death, we give ourselves too much power. It is better that humanity not know whether Zeref was successful in his attempts to resurrect his brother," Professor Shiori had said.

It was a tragic story, but it didn't take away from the evil that Zeref would later do. He created demons and they were the same monsters that tormented the citizens of Fiore, even in the present. They were the monsters that the knights couldn't handle, which was why the government had passed the responsibility of dealing with them onto mages and their guilds.

"Yo," a familiar voice said into her ear.

Lucy screamed, grabbing for her keys as she whirled around in her desk chair, her eyes falling on Natsu who was desperately trying to keep himself from laughing at her. She pouted, narrowing her eyes at him in anger.

"Natsu!" She shouted, smacking him in the arm. "Don't scare me like that!" She crossed her arms over her chest as she glared at him, "What do you want?"

"Wanted to see if you'd do a job with me," he answered casually. "Sorry."

"Shouldn't you be at Fairy Tail's party?" She questioned, leaning back in the chair a little bit.

"Not as fun without you around," he replied honestly. "Job?"

"How long would it take?"

"Dunno."

"You haven't picked one yet?" Her brows rose incredulously.

"Nah," he grinned toothily, his fangs flashing. "Figured since we're going to be partner's we take turns choosing jobs, and you've never been on a job before. So you get first pick."

"Okay," Lucy sighed. "But it can't take too long."

"The longer jobs are saved for when we're on breaks, Luigi," Natsu told her with a roll of his eyes. "Jeez, you don't know anything do you," he teased.

Lucy's cheeks flushed and she spun around in her chair, putting her back to Natsu. "Excuse me for not knowing how jobs work. I just joined a guild after all," she huffed. "And my name is Lucy, not Luigi."

"C'mon Luce," Natsu pressed. "Come and pick a job." He nudged her shoulder, the warmth of his skin startling her a little. "Tomorrow is the weekend," he cajoled, "and you know you want to go on a job, instead of doing your boring homework."

"Just let me finish the worksheet Professor Shiori assigned for Monday, and then I'll go with you to pick out a job. Okay," she caved, staring at him hopefully.

"Sure," he agreed easily, looking satisfied.

It was a little irritating for her to be working on the worksheet while Natsu looked over her shoulder, but she knew that she couldn't very well ask him to leave. Primarily because, he wouldn't leave. Not that she minded his presence really, especially when he was being quiet. But his staring was a little unnerving. Lucy flipped to the second page, slowly answering the questions and making sure that her answers were as thorough as they could possibly be. _**What makes Zeref's death significant?**_

"Nothin'," Natsu muttered, at her shoulder, eyeing the quesiton.

"Natsu," Lucy sighed. "His death is significant because it shows the lasting impact that magic can have. He created these creatures and these spells and curses, that are still around long after his death."

Natsu just huffed, staring at her in exasperation. Lucy rolled her eyes, ignoring his look as she answered the question. She set her pen down on the table, and raised her arms above her head, smiling a little in relief as her shoulders and upper back cracked.

"Okay, Natsu, let's go pick a job," she said.

Natsu shouted with excitement, grabbing her wrist and pulling her out of the dorm. Hopefully, they would be able to successfully complete the job. Of course, since she was doing a job with Natsu, who knew if that was possible? He was unpredictable. Not, that that was a bad thing.


	4. Chapter Four

Lucy yawned as she entered the hotel room that had been booked for them as they worked on their job. Natsu couldn't wait to get started, and after she had finished her worksheet he had dragged her to Fairy Tail to choose a job. It had taken her some time to decide on a job that would best fit them, and when she had finally picked it out, Natsu had decided that she was taking too long and was pushing her to quickly pack so they could head out already. It was about as endearing as it was annoying, but Lucy couldn't fault him for being excited to go on a job when he hadn't been able to do so for months. Still, she wished that he could have at least a little bit of patience.

As soon as they had arrived in the small town of Cyclamen, a town not far from Magnolia Academy, Natsu had wanted to start their job and complete it so they could hurry back to their guild and choose another one. Thankfully, he had listened to reason when Lucy pointed out that it was late and they needed to rest if they were going to kill those cat-demons. Of course mentioning that the cat-demons could see better in the dark than they could, also helped to convince Natsu that they needed to wait until morning to deal with the demons that were tormenting the town.

Which was why Lucy had convinced Mira to book them a hotel room, before they had left for Cyclamen. It was why Lucy was presently, wandering around the room, appreciating how nice it was and Natsu was at the restaurant inside the hotel, eating and eating and eating. Lucy yawned covering her mouth with her hand as Natsu strolled into the room, carrying several bags of food.

"I brought food," he announced, setting the bags on the coffee table.

"Thanks," Lucy said, wandering over to see what exactly he had brought. "Natsu, this is a lot of food. Did you take it all from the restaurant?" It was partially meant as a joke, although some small part of her wondered if he actually did clean the restaurant out.

"No!" He sounded so offended, that Lucy very nearly laughed. "These were leftovers from my meal."

"And you're still hungry?" She raised her brows.

"Well of course. I'm a growing boy. I need sustenance," he declared, tearing into one of the plastic containers.

She hummed, but didn't bother to argue with him. They ate quickly and quietly, and went to bed in relative silence. It had been a long, tiring day and Lucy didn't want to force conversation where it wasn't necessary. Natsu didn't seem to inclined to talk, either. Her sleep was peaceful, and unlike usual no dreams plagued her sleep. When she woke up the following morning, it was to immediately become alarmed as she registered that there was another body in the bed with her. She sat up, flinching a little when the body beside her stirred and grumbled underneath its breath. Pink hair poking out from underneath the covers made her sigh in exasperation, as she crawled out of the bed, trying not to wake Natsu.

 _Seriously, though? Why'd he crawl into bed with me? He had a perfectly good bed on the other side of the room_ , Lucy thought as she headed to the table in the corner of the room where their stuff lay.

"What'cha doin' Luigi?" Natsu slurred, sitting up in the bed and rubbing at his eyes.

"Nothing," she lied. "And my name is Lucy, Natsu."

And of course, he called her out on it. "You're lying," Natsu accused, stumbling out of the bed and staggering toward her. "Why?"

"It's nothing that is all that important," she answered, grabbing her backpack and taking a peek at the objects she had stuffed inside of it. "You could get another hour of sleep easily. I'm just figuring out what we have, since we aren't exactly sure where these cat-demons are. I'd hate for us to get lost."

"I guess," Natsu shrugged carelessly. "But you could always ask for help, y'know. We are part of the same guild, and we are partners. That's what partners do right? Help each other out."

Lucy slowly nodded. He had a good point. It was just, that she was so used to being on her own that she wasn't entirely sure how to function when thrown into a situation where she wasn't alone and didn't have to do things on her own. She had never had a partner before, and it was hard for her to suddenly adjust to having a partner.

Natsu grabbed his bag that had been lying on top of the table, and smiled at Lucy, "So what do we need, Luce?"

Her lips curled into a small smile, as she answered him back. "Snacks for you, obviously. You seem to like to try and eat your bodyweight in food, and I can't imagine what kind of monster you turn into without it." Natsu gave her an offended look, but shrugged and grinned sloppily, acknowledging that her words held some merit. Lucy sighed, as she peered into her bag. "I have a map, compass, and water. But it wouln't hurt for you to bring extras in case we get separated or something happens to my bag."

"We're not going to get separated," Natsu said sounding annoyed. "We're partners."

"Unexpected things can happen on jobs, Natsu," Lucy replied. "Even _I_ know that and I've never been on a job before. It doesn't hurt to be prepared."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," he huffed. "We'll go buy more whatever's. Anything else?"

"Sleeping bags?" Lucy guessed. When Natsu looked at her inquiringly she threw her hands up in the air and snapped, "Well I don't know! What do you suggest, Oh Wise One?"

Natsu's eyes widened a little at her harsh tone and he gripped her wrists, lowering them back to her side. "For starters, I'd like you to relax. Luce, you're getting too worked up over a simple job." She puffed her cheeks out, glaring at him. He was quite sure that if he wasn't holding onto her wrists, she would have hit him. "Look, I get you want to do well because it's your first job and stuff, but if you stress out about it too much you're going to end up psyching yourself out. And then, you're not going to do well at all. So relax." She didn't and he rolled his eyes, a little irritated at her stubborn nature. "We don't need sleeping bags. We aren't going to be gone that long. Just extras of the stuff that you have, in case we get separated. Which we won't be getting separated, but whatever. We'll do it your way."

"Fine," Lucy huffed, trying to wrench her wrists out of his grasp, but he only held on tighter. "Natsu," she groaned.

"Are you going to calm down?" he pressed.

"I'm not a little kid," she glowered.

"You need to relax, Lucy," he repeated.

It was the use of her actual name that gave Lucy some pause. Was she truly acting like a little kid? Was she getting too worked up over what Natsu was dubbing a "simple job"? But it was her first job! She wanted to do well.

"Lucy," he sighed, drawing her focus back to him.

"I just don't want to fail," she found herself whispering. "I don't want to let Fairy Tail down."

The expression on Natsu's face softened. "You're not going to fail, Luce. You're a capable B-Ranked mage, remember? Besides, I've gone out on jobs before, so you shouldn't feel that nervous. It's not like you're going with a newbie."

She nodded her head, her eyes drifting down to the floor. "Sorry for snapping at you."

Natsu released her wrists and shrugged, "It's fine." He grabbed his backpack, slinging it over his shoulder. "So supplies, right?"

"Yeah."

It hadn't taken them long to find supplies in the small town, and before long they were headed deep into the forests. The sun had just reached its full height in the sky, bringing with it a lot of heat. The dense underbrush within the forest didn't do much to cool them down; in fact Lucy thought that the dense forest was making it worse because it felt as if it was trapping the heat. It seemed like she was the only one suffering through the heat too, because Natsu didn't appear to bothered even with his scarf wrapped tightly around his neck.

"Hey, Natsu," Lucy spoke up, stepping over a tree root. He hummed, as she ducked a low lying branch. "What kind of magic do you use?"  
"Hm, guess you wouldn't know since you're relatively new to Magnolia and just joined Fairy Tail," he mused out loud. "Fire Dragon Slayer magic," he answered after a pause.

Lucy repeated the name, "Fire Dragon Slayer magic?" She tilted her head to the side and stared at Natsu, "Never heard of it."

"Most haven't, and it's not something that I advertise," he shrugged. "As far as I know, I'm the only one who can use it."

"Interesting," she murmured.

"Yeah."

The conversation died, and Lucy for whatever inexplicable reason suddenly felt bad for bringing it up. It was obviously a touchy subject, she realized as she stared at the tense set of his shoulders. _I wonder why,_ she mused. She decided not to push the subject, because it was evident that Natsu didn't want to talk about it. Lucy glanced down at the map, her steps faltering a little. The cat-demons were likely to be situated in a nearby cave since they were cave-dwellers or they were going to be found in large, burrows underneath the ground. Based on the fact that caves were numerous in and surrounding the forest, Lucy figured that those were the first places they should check. However, the nearest cave was still two miles away.

With that in mind, they quickened their speed. It didn't take long before her skin was slick with sweat from exertion and the heat. Pausing in the shade of a large, towering tree Lucy sat heavily on the ground, her legs shaking; Natsu was already sitting down and he scooted a little closer to her, digging through his backpack and handing her a water bottle and a bag of nuts and dried fruit.

"You good, Luce?" He asked, as she gasped for air.

Lucy nodded, smiling sheepishly as she replied, "Yeah, it's just warmer than I thought it would be and I'm just slightly out of shape."

"Liar," he mumbled. "You take the gym class that everyone is required to take. There's no way that you're out of shape."

"Fair point," she conceded, sipping at the water. Lucy ate a handful of dried fruit and took another sip of water before she spoke again. "How are you not sweating, right now?"

"I don't know," Natsu shrugged, as if it didn't matter. "I am a Fire Dragon Slayer, so maybe that has something to do with it." He tilted his head to the side, "Does it matter that much?"  
"No, I was just curious," Lucy said, shaking her head. "How long do you think it will take us to get back to Magnolia?"

"Who knows," Natsu answered. To him, it didn't really matter. He was just glad to be away from Magnolia for the time being; it had been quite suffocating there, since he was unable to go on jobs by himself because of some stupid rule. "It depends on how many cat-demons there are, or if one of us ends up getting injured." Lucy nodded, her complexion paling as if it had just occurred to her that there was the possibility that one of them could get injured. "Don't worry, Luce," Natsu said, throwing his arm around her shoulders and ignoring her groans of protest. "It'll be fine."

Lucy wriggled out from Natsu's grasp, and her features softened at the sad look on his face. He was incredibly touchy, she thought, but it's kind of cute. "You're too warm Natsu," she explained, fanning her face with her hands. "I'm already really warm. I don't need you adding to it."

He pouted but didn't argue and he even whispered a small apology. It wasn't his fault, but the sentiment was sweet nonetheless. They rested for ten more minutes, before they decided they needed to keep moving. Their pace was much slower than when they had first started, and Lucy was beginning to think that picking this job had been a mistake. _Why couldn't I have picked something easier_ , she thought. But, when she had picked out the job, Natsu had been so excited. Apparently, it was a job that he had been waiting to do for a long time, and he was glad that nobody else had picked it out. It shouldn't be that bad, Lucy hoped. It should be relatively simple to complete. It was just getting to that point, that was difficult.

Slowly, the trees begin to thin a little bit, the forest no longer as dense as it had been. About a half mile in front of them, was a cave etched into the rockface that bordered a stream. Lucy grinned, bouncing on her feet a little. This may not be the cave they were looking for, but it was enough to give her some hope and a little more energy. They wandered forward carefully, taking care to tread softly and cross the stream quietly. They didn't want to make too much noise, just in case the cat-demons were there.

It'd be better to survive the cat-demons. The interior of the cave was damp and muggy, and water dripped from crevices in the rock. There was a snuffling sound, and Lucy squinted, her eyes slowly adjusting to the dark. Her eyes widened when she saw the figures lying in the cave, sleeping, their chest rising and falling slowly. They were dark and inky, shadows coiling from their ebony fur, with large scythe-like claws and sharp pointed teeth that you could see even when their mouths were closed. Lucy knew that if they opened their eyes, that the eyes would be red and slitted.

There were around ten of them. Enough for them to be extremely dangerous if they were awake. Lucy shared a glance with Natsu and reached for her keys, praying that she wouldn't make too much noise. Natsu's hands lit up with flames, illuminating the cave and waking up some of the cat-demons who were groggy as they blinked sleepily.

"Open, Gate of," Lucy started before one of the cat-demons slammed into her, knocking her onto her back and driving all of the breath from her lungs. "Oof!"

In an instant Natsu was ripping the cat-demon off of Lucy, throwing into the cave wall. Her head was ringing as Natsu engaged the demons, batting them away as Lucy struggled to her feet. There was a sickening crack, when Natsu engaged one of the cat-demons, and it fell limply to the ground, drawing angered growls from its companions. Natsu's eyes widened, briefly, as if he was stunned that he had killed something but when more cat-demons descended on him, he was forced to push it to the back of his mind.

Lucy shakily, stood, pressing a hand to her head as her vision swam. _Summoning a Celestial Spirit wouldn't work,_ she thought, _because they'll attack me before I can do it. Somehow they know what the keys mean_.

She extended a hand before her, a golden magic circle lighting up before her.

"Survey the Heavens, Open the Heavens...

All the stars, far and wide...

Show me thy appearance...

With such shine.

Oh Tetrabiblos...

I am the ruler of the stars...

Aspect become complete...

Open thy malevolent gate.

Oh 88 Stars of the heaven...

Shine!

Urano Metria!"

The light from the attack was blinding as orbs of light shot through the cave, striking the cat-demons who let out screeches of pain. Large portions of the cave were also destroyed, bits of rock and slate crumbling to the ground and further back in the cavern, a cave-in occurred. The light dissipated, leaving Lucy and Natsu the only living things in the cave and with the bodies of the cat-demons at their feet. The smell of signed fur and flesh filled the air, and Lucy's already pale complexion paled even further, at the sickening smell. Natsu took a step toward her, stepping over the bodies of a few cat-demons, his hand extended as if it to help her but before he could reach her, her eyes rolled back into her head and her body crumpled to the floor.

"Lucy!"


	5. Chapter Five

Consciousness came back to her slowly. She became aware of the voices first; they were loud, but all held the same concerned tone. A groan slipped past her lips and then the voices fell silent, leaving her encased in darkness. Her eyelids fluttered as she tried to force her eyes open, and she felt a warm, burning, hand on her arm. Lucy forced her eyes open, her vision hazy for a few moments before everything became clearer. She was lying in a soft bed, bright overhead lights glaring down at her, and a cluster of people surrounding her bed.

"You're finally awake," a feminine voice said, and Lucy turned her head to see Erza. "Natsu was getting worried."  
There was a huff on her left side and Lucy's head swivelled, her brown eyes meeting worried obsidian orbs. "About time you woke up, Luigi," Natsu said with a scowl on his face that belied the worry that he actually felt.

"My name is Lucy," she hissed, glowering at him. She looked around the room, a little confused. "Where am I?"

It was Erza who answered, "The infirmary at Magnolia." She crossed her arms over her chest as she stared at Lucy, "You were irresponsible, Lucy. You used too much magic with whatever spell you used."

"Urano Metria," Lucy piped up, shrinking a little when Erza narrowed her eyes.

"You used too much magic when you cast Urano Metria," Erza said, her eyes still narrowed. "You depleted your magic reservoir pretty dangerously, and it didn't help that you had been injured beforehand either." She huffed, "What were you thinking?"

"I was trying to help," Lucy defended herself weakly. "I just didn't want to be a burden."

Lucy's eyes turned to Natsu, and she hoped that the remorse on her face was evidence enough that she felt bad. She didn't want them to be mad at her too. Natsu sighed, looking away from her and she frowned. Was it wrong for her to have done everything she could to not be a burden? She had been an F-Ranked mage for so long, and it was hard for her to get rid of the mentality that all F-Ranked mages had. They were weak, stupid, unworthy. They would never amount to anything, in the magical sense. Even though she was not an F-Ranked mage anymore, those words still resonated in her head and she couldn't quite get rid of them.

When you are told something for so long, you start believing it to be absolute truth.

Maybe she shouldn't have used Urano Metria, especially since she wasn't ready for a spell of that caliber yet. But what else could she have done? She didn't think that the cat-demons would have left her alone for her to summon a spirit, because it seemed that they had known what her keys did. At least, that's what her impression had been.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Just don't do it again, Luce," Natsu answered, glancing at her and letting her see just how truly worried he had been. "You aren't a burden, Luce. You don't need to work so hard to try and prove yourself."

Lucy nodded, and offered him a small smile, which he instantly returned. Things were awkwardly silent between the trio for a few moments, before Erza made some excuse about prior engagements she had to attend to and fled, leaving Natsu and Lucy alone. (And Lucy feeling incredibly awkward.) Natsu must have brought her deadweight back to Magnolia, and even though she hadn't wanted to become a burden, in the end that was what she had ended up as. At least she can say she still completed the job? Not, that that was much of a comfort anyhow. She had been trying to avoid becoming a burden, but she had been so focused on that that she didn't realize that she had actually ended up becoming one. She couldn't possibly apologize to him, or the rest of Fairy Tail, enough for what had eventually happened.

"Don't apologize," Natsu said, as if sensing the direction her thoughts had taken. "We already know that you feel bad."

"I _am_ sorry," she replied earnestly.

"I know," his reply was quiet. "But you really scared us, Luce." An apology rose to her lips but Natsu waved her off. "We still completed the job, so it all works out in the end, I guess." He grinned, "The reward is pretty substantial too, and the town was pretty grateful too since we took care of the monsters pretty quick." He patted his belly, "They were going to give us some nice food. But, they sent it with us so we can eat it here." He pointed at a container sitting near her. "It's delicious. If you won't eat it, I will."

"I just noticed it," Lucy said with a laugh. "Give me time, Natsu." She reached for the container, grabbing it and pulling it into her lap. "What is it?"

"No clue," Natsu shrugged. "But it's _delicious_. If you won't eat it Luce, I will."

"Hush you glutton," she scolded him lightheartedly, as she took the top off of the container. Her stomach rumbled at the heavenly smell of the food and she sighed. "It smells so good."

"I know," Natsu murmured, looking like a kicked puppy, as Lucy pulled at the utensils that had been taped to the container. "Can I have some?"

"No," she snapped, but there was a playful look in her eyes. "Just let me eat in peace, Natsu."

He huffed, but left her alone for at least a little while as she ate at the hearty meal, that they had gotten from Cyclamen. It took Lucy very little time at all to finish the meal, and she didn't miss the forlorn look on Natsu's face when she had. She stifled a giggle, when Natsu pouted as she put the lid back on the empty container and set it to the side.

"When do I get out of here," Lucy asked curiously, as Natsu perched on the edge of the bed.

"When I say you can Miss Heartfilia," a harsh voice snapped, and Lucy winced her eyes shooting to Natsu who was looking slightly afraid. "Get off of the bed Mr. Dragneel," the voice said.

The owner of the voice, was a tall woman with pink hair and similarly colored eyes. Wrinkles lined her face, and her eyes were ancient, leading Lucy to conclude that this lady had been around for a long time. Perhaps she was the same age as Professor Makarov? Lucy was silent as Porlyusica checked her over, clucking her tone occasionally.

"You're lucky you aren't suffering from Magic Deficiency Disease," Porlyusica scolded, taking a few steps away from Lucy's bed. "But you'll be fine. You need to take a few days to rest, however, so you don't contract Magic Deficiency Disease." She narrowed her eyes, "That means taking it easy in class and to not go on any jobs for awhile. Next time, don't try and use a spell that is beyond your current caliber. I don't like having patients in here because of frivolous reasons."

Porlyusica spun on her heel, storming out of the room with her white doctor's coat billowing behind her. Lucy's eyes were wide as she watched the healer go, before she turned back to Natsu who shrunk in on himself while the irate healer had been in the room.

"Natsu?"

Natsu straightened, a light blush on his cheeks, "Ready to go, Luce?"

"Yeah," Lucy answered with a faint smile. "She's scary isn't she?"

"Porlyusica? Yeah," Natsu agreed with a nod, as Lucy clambered out of the bed. "But Wendy really likes her, and Porlyusica really likes Wendy."

"Wendy," Lucy mumbled, falling into step beside Natsu as they left the infirmary. "Was she the blue-haired girl? Really young?"

"Yeah," Natsu confirmed. "You've met her before. In a way, she's kind of like me. We're both Dragon Slayers, although Wendy's magic is different from mine. She's a sweet kid, Luce. I think you'd like her." He grinned, "Everyone likes her."

Lucy laughed a little shaking her head. "I'm going to go to my dorm, and sleep. I'll see you later, Natsu."

"Luce," Natsu whined, trailing behind her as she headed to her dorm.

"Bye, Natsu."

 **~8~**

The few hours that Lucy got to herself before Natsu would inevitably reappear, were the best few hours of her life. She was able to take a bath, work on her novel (which no one else knew about), and start her readings on the ruins that Professor Shiori would be taking them to in approximately three weeks. Not that Lucy was keeping track or anything. The ruins marked the last place where anyone had seen Zeref alive. They were also the remnants of the school that he had gone to; it was the same school that Magnolia Academy was modeled after. According to various historians, after Zeref had become so consumed by madness after trying to resurrect his brother, he had activated an unknown spell that leveled everything within a ten-mile radius. No one in the school survived, and historians believed that included Zeref. There was no way, they argued, that anyone could have survived that - not even Zeref. Although, there were plenty of historians out there who weren't as sure.

Zeref was many things, some argued, but he certainly wasn't stupid. They believed that Zeref must have engineered a failsafe or something that would keep him alive, even after he cast the destructive spell. But after the school and everything around it had been destroyed, there had been no sign of Zeref. Which could only lead to the conclusion that he was dead. Of course, even with the enhanced lifespan of a mage, it was doubtful that Zeref could even be alive four-hundred years later.

The ruins of the school were an archaeologist's dream, and were now used to educate and also warn against the dangers of magic. Lucy hummed, as she flipped the page reading more extensively about the ruins. The only part of the school that was even still partly standing, was the library which had been heavily warded and fortified, which was the only thing keeping it even partially safe from Zeref's magic. Every other part of the school had been decimated, and all that was left was rubble. Or nothing.

"Yo, Luce," Natsu greeted, climbing through the window and into the room she shared with Levy. "What are ya readin'?" Lucy held up the book, showing Natsu the title. " _The History of Mildian Magic Academy and Its Connection to Zeref,"_ Natsu read. "You're reading more about Zeref again?"

"He was the most recent topic we discussed in Professor Shiori's class," Lucy defended herself. "And, this was a book that she assigned for us to read since we are visiting the ruins of Mildian Magic Academy in three weeks," she added. "Apparently, it was at this academy that Zeref met Mavis Vermilion, who would later become the founder of Magnolia Academy and one of its guilds." She grinned at Natsu, "Guess what guild?"

"I don't know," he shrugged.

"Fairy Tail!" Lucy said excitedly. She glanced down at the book, "But Mavis eventually died of mysterious causes, after saving the life of her friend, Yuri Dreyar."

"Master's father?" Natsu murmured, leaning over Lucy's shoulder. "Master's last name is Dreyar."

"Yeah," Lucy murmured. "That's interesting. Mavis was the founder of Magnolia Academy and Fairy Tail, and she lost her life to save her friend. Now her friend's son is the master of Fairy Tail. That's so cool."

"Yeah, I guess," Natsu mumbled, his hot breath washing over Lucy's shoulder before he flopped back onto her bed. "I still think it's stupid to read about Zeref anymore. He's dead, isn't he? What does he matter?" He interlaced his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. "What is everyone's fascination with him anyway? He's a murderer."

"True, but I think that people are fascinated with him because he wasn't a monster," Lucy explained. "At least not entirely. He was trying to find a way to save his brother who had been murdered by cultists. That makes him a character that people can sympathize with. Although, that doesn't mean he didn't do bad things especially by you know creating demons and then destroying the school he had gone to."

"He still isn't worth any of my time," Natsu insisted. "Someone who kills people just for the fun of it, is unredeemable and isn't worth being known as anything other than evil."

Lucy nodded, but didn't pursue the subject any further. Apparently like the subject of his magic, it was a touchy one. Natsu's opinions on Zeref were quite strong and he did raise valid points, but that didn't take away from the fact that learning about Zeref was still something they needed to do. He was a huge part of Fiore's history. Lucy tucked a bookmark into the book, before setting it to the side and turning her attention to Natsu who was staring fixatedly at the ceiling.

"Why did you stop by Natsu," she asked, raising her brows.

"Bored," was the simple answer. Then, "Gray was getting on my nerves."

"So you thought that you should bother me?"

"Yeah," Natsu answered. "You're not nearly as annoying as Gray is." A thunderous look appeared on Lucy's face and Natsu hurriedly added, "Not that you're annoying or anything, Luce. Gray just bothers me."

"What'd he do this time?"

"Exists."

"Natsu," Lucy laughed. "You could be nice to him, you know."

"Why would I possibly be nice to the Ice Stripper?" He asked, sitting up. "He's not nice to me. And, he's constantly stripping. That's weird!"

Lucy hummed. The rivalry that existed between Natsu and Gray was something that she would never understand. Natsu's attachment to her was also something that she would never understand. But she wouldn't complain. In a way, it was endearing. Plus, Natsu was cute so that was a definite bonus.


	6. Chapter Six

The day of the field trip had finally arrived, and Lucy could not be more excited. In the past three weeks, not much had happened. Lucy was slowly integrating into life at Fairy Tail and getting used to the chaos that surrounded her guildmates, and she was working hard on her school work (when Natsu didn't make it a point to bother her). The only thing that could possibly be called interesting, was that Fairy Tail had gained two new members in the form of Gajeel Redfox and Juvia Lockser, two former Phantom Lord members. They were also the two students who had been absent to Professor Shiori's class, that one day. Gajeel, was a tall, surly man who was covered in piercings and all of his replies to anything said to him were snappy. He also got along with Natsu, about as well as Natsu and Gray got along. So, not very well at all.

Then there was Juvia, who at first had appeared to be shy and timid. It turned out that that wasn't the case at all. At least, not when it came to Gray whom she was very possessive of. Apparently, the two had met a few years ago when Gray saved her while she had been out on a job alone (which, was partly for the rule banning solo jobs), and ever since then Juvia had a thing for him. Even going as far as to stalking him sometimes. It freaked Gray out, reportedly, but he never told any of the professors or even the head of the school. He also never encouraged Juvia either.

But, Lucy didn't think he hated her attention as much as he pretended that he did. Excepting, of course, when Juvia took her possessiveness a little too far by trying to alienate Gray from any and all females even those who were his friends. The blue-haired Water mage was extremely paranoid about "love rivals" despite the fact that Juvia was the only girl, that Lucy knew of, that was interested in Gray. Needless to say, then, that the relationship between Juvia and Lucy was quite rocky with Juvia constantly accusing her of being a "love rival" for Gray. Lucy hoped that eventually Juvia would realize that she had no competition for Gray, especially not from Lucy.

Lucy's legs bounced as the bus rattled over the pothole strewn road. Beside her, Natsu groaned, leaning against Lucy with his eyes screwed shut. It had been somewhat amusing for Lucy, when she found out that Natsu had motion sickness. He always seemed so capable and appeared as if nothing could ever faze him, so to find out that he suffered from motion sickness was both amusing and a relief. It solidified, to her, that everyone had their weaknesses even if some weren't always visible. Of course, Natsu wasn't the only one to be suffering from motion sickness. Gajeel, who was sitting beside Juvia in the back of the bus, was also quite sick and was apparently worse off than Natsu, if Lucy were to guess based on the retching sounds coming from the back of the bus. She felt sympathy for him, she really did, but she was just glad that Natsu was seemingly handling the motion sickness, a lot better than Gajeel was. At least, kind of.

Natsu groaned, flopping face first into Lucy's lap and causing a blush to decorate her face. Thank God I'm wearing jeans rather than a skirt, she thought. Natsu turned, nuzzling his face into her stomach and weakly grasping from her hands. Lucy giggled a little when he grasped her hands and gently tangled them in his pink hair. She tugged at the strands of pink hair, gently combing her fingers through his hair as Natsu sighed in relief, his complexion looking less pale than it had previously. He's like a little kid sometimes, she thought, continuing to sift through the pink locks with her fingers. But I guess, he's kind of cute. Her cheeks flamed scarlet. What the heck am I thinking? Natsu's cute? I mean it's not a lie, but why am I thinking about it? She shook her head, trying to banish those thoughts. She glanced down at Natsu's head in her lap, as the bus slowly rolled to a stop.

"Get off Natsu," Lucy growled, tugging roughly at his hair and earning a groaned protest as he slowly sat up, glaring at her mutinously.

"Ow," he hissed, as Lucy yanked her hands away from his head. "That hurt, Luce," he pouted, widening his obsidian orbs which made him look too much like a kicked puppy.

"Sorry," she said. "But look we're here."

"And?" he asked with a sour look on his face. "You forget, Luce. I don't care about anything related to Zeref, especially not the school he supposedly went to."  
"I did not forget," Lucy insisted, as they filed off the bus. "But we're here so that means you won't be suffering from motion sickness anymore."

"I guess," Natsu murmured as his stomach rumbled. "Does anyone have food? I'm starving."

"No," came a chorus of voices, the most predominant of which belonged to Lucy, Gray, and Gajeel.

Natsu pouted, but didn't otherwise complain as Professor Shiori led them to the ruins. It was obvious, that the school had once been magnificent. All that was left of it now, however, were the crumbled remains of buildings. The first building on their left, Professor Shiori said, had once been an infirmary and it was a place that Zeref had reportedly frequented since it also housed a number of medical texts which he used to attempt to find a waist to resurrect his brother. Although the majority of the books had been housed in the library, which was where Zeref was most often found when he wasn't with Mavis Vermillion. The two had a relationship that was odd to any who witnessed it, because people hadn't been able to figure out if they were solely friends or if they were perhaps something more. Professor Shiori said that no one would know for certain what kind of relationship that the two had, and that much of it was left up to speculation.

The next buildings they took a look at were the dorms, with the boys dorm being much smaller than the girls dorm. Peculiarly enough, they were situated particularly close to one another but Professor Shiori had emphasized that an enchantment made it so the boys could not sneak into the girls' dorm or vice versa. She had also added, how over the years the attendance at Mildian Magic Academy had begun to decline. Lucy carefully stepped over the rubble, grasping onto Natsu's arm to steady herself as she almost tripped over a particularly large piece of rock.

"The library," Professor Shiori indicated the only building that was still partially standing, "was where Zeref spent most of his time and was heavily warded. Which is why it is the only building on school grounds that is still standing." She gestured to the building. "There were very few students in the library at the time Zeref used the unknown spell. Most were either in their dorms, in class, or gathered in the courtyard. They were all killed almost instantly." Her eyes traced over the ruins of the library. "He killed everyone in the school."

"What about Mavis?" The question emerged from Juvia's lips. "Juvia, wants to know what happened to Mavis."

"She wasn't at the school at the time," Professor Shiori said. "Nor were any of her friends."

"How were the books still intact after the spell?" Lucy asked, wrapping her arms around her middle. "It destroyed everything also, and even partly destroyed the library. So, how were the books still in good condition?"

"Many of the books were heavily enchanted to protect them from damage," Professor Shiori answered. "That along with the enchantments on the library itself, helped to preserve many of the books although not all were spared from damage. Still, the most important books survived and now reside within Magnolia Academy or with the Ten Wizard Saints."

With the questions exhausted, they moved on from the library and to the remains of the other buildings. It was amazing, in a macabre way, how one individual was able to destroy the campus and kill everyone in it. I guess it's a good thing he's dead now, Lucy though. Who knows what he could do if he were to still be alive? She shifted on her feet as Professor Shiori explained some of the classes that Mildian Magic Academy had offered, and which classes Zeref had excelled in. Part of what had driven, Zeref to destroy the school, were his professor's refusals to let him to continue to look into restoring life to his brother. It had driven him to destroy the academy and massacre everyone in it, but Professor Shiori added that there were still things that remained unknown about the entire situation. For instance, what spell had Zeref used?

Lucy wasn't sure that she wanted to know that. She thought it'd be better left unknown, lest someone else use it. They certainly didn't need history to repeat itself.

 **~8~**

"Slow down," Lucy sighed, as Natsu scarfed down his food. They had stopped at a neighboring town to eat lunch, after having finished touring the ruins and now Natsu was eating his food like it was the last time he was ever going to see it. "You're going to choke," she chided.

"Will not," Natsu argued, through a mouthful of his sandwich. He swallowed. "Don't worry so much, Luce."

"I'd imagine it's hard for her to do that when you're such an idiot, Flamebrain," Gray drawled.

"Gray, there is no need to be rude," a different voice chastised. "Especially in the presence of ladies."

Lucy turned her eyes to the owner of the voice, a man with pale blue hair and black eyes. Her eyes fell to the emblem that was pinned to his uniform. He was an A-Ranked mage, just like Gray. Speaking of Gray, Lucy was wondering how the two knew each other. They seemed to interact with a sense of familiarity, even if there was clear animosity between the two of them.

"Lyon," Gray sighed, his voice nearly a growl.

"Ladies?" Natsu questioned.

"Yes, ladies," Lyon seemed to sigh in exasperation. "The lovely Juvia, and Lucy, fall under that category Dragneel."

"Shut up Ash Brain," Gray huffed before Natsu could say anything more. "Are you still trying to sway Juvia into joining Lamia Scale, Lyon? She's a member of Fairy Tail."

"A new member," Lyon said with a charming smile. "She's allowed to change her mind and switch guilds, just like Ultear did."

"Ultear was part of a dark guild," Gray reminded him with a roll of his pewter eyes. "I'd say her leaving Grimoire Heart was entirely warranted. Hades, is a creep anyway."

"A creep who is still a professor at Magnolia Academy, even if it's only part-time," Lyon replied. "Besides, there was no proof that Grimoire Heart was a dark guild. Even when the other guilds and authorities looked into it, there was no proof that they were doing anything that would be breaking the law."

"Are you calling Ultear a liar?" Gray asked raising his brows.

Lyon didn't answer. He just gave Gray a challenging look before walking away, and going to bother Juvia which had an angry red flush crawling up Gray's pale skin. But he didn't do anything about it. Instead, he just huffed and sat angrily beside Lucy glaring at a spot on the ground which slowly began to ice over. At her side, Natsu stifled a snicker and went back to devouring his food. Lucy sipped at her water, keeping a careful eye on Gray who was still glaring fixatedly at the ground.

"If you like Juvia you should tell her instead of blowing her off," Lucy said, her voice low as she leaned toward Gray.

"I don't like Juvia," Gray huffed, finally looking up from the ground.

Lucy hummed, leaning back when she caught sight of Juvia's murderous gaze locked on her. "Well, Juvia likes you."

"I know," he sighed with a roll of his eyes.

Lucy narrowed her eyes, "I wasn't finished Fullbuster." She sighed. "You either need to flat out tell her you're not interested and you'll never be interested or tell her that you are interested in her. Because it kind of looks like you're stringing her along."

"I've told her, I'm not interested in her though," Gray replied with a whine in his voice.

"And she still pursues you?" Lucy raised her brows.

Gray nodded, and she pursed her lips staring down at the ground. Gray was attractive, there was no doubt about that, but if he had rejected Juvia why did she still want him? Surely it wasn't just because he was handsome. There had to be some other reason for why Juvia was so painfully in love with Gray. But, should it really matter to me? Best not get involved, Lu. Don't want to accidentally make things worse between them or hurt someone's feelings, Lucy thought. Still, she hoped that they could eventually resolve whatever was between them. They didn't need any mishaps or any more tension, just because things between Juvia and Gray were weird. But she really shouldn't play matchmaker. God knows, that that has never ended well.

Lucy leaned a little against Natsu, taking another sip of her water. Still, Juvia and Gray would make a cute couple. Maybe.

"Tired, Luce?" Natsu questioned.

"Absolutely not," Lucy answered. "Levy probably wishes that she could be here. She's really big into ruins."

"She's been here a bunch of times," Natsu informed her. "She somehow always manages to convince Master, to send her out with a few others, so that she can investigate the ruins."

Lucy smiled, "Doesn't surprise me."

Honestly, she'd probably do the same. The ruins were fascinating, almost as fascinating as Zeref, himself, was. Though, she better not let Natsu catch wind of that. He'd only think that she was crazy. Well, he probably already thought that she was crazy. Lucy sighed, her eyes moving over to the ruins. It was so peaceful here, despite the destruction that Zeref caused, she thought. She opened her mouth to say something when there was a deafening roar and the ruins went up in flames. Natsu shouted, pulling Lucy down and hovering over her. A scream had ripped itself, unconsciously from her throat, and a few moments later she became aware that she was shaking. Natsu moved off of her, and Lucy sat up as he neared the flames. Her eyes widened when he began to quite literally, eat them, and she wrapped her arms around her middle.

"Is everyone okay?" Professor Shiori asked, stumbling over to them.

There were a few mumbled assents.

What on Earthland had just happened?

 **~8~**

Things were muted as the class returned back to the academy, their clothes singed. A few of her classmates, ones that Lucy didn't know very well, had minor burns. The only thing common amongst all of them, was that the explosion had all shaken them. Even Professor Shiori had been shaken, and she was usually unshakeable. As soon as they had arrived back at the school, Professor Shiori had led them to an empty office before hastily leaving (only, after of course she had said that she would gather the other professors and the guild masters). Natsu rested his chin on his arms which he had lying on top of the table. His keen eyes were watching Lucy closely, and it had made the blonde flush a little before she took to carefully avoiding his eyes. Her mind was still stuck on what had happened.

The sudden explosion at the ruins had been unreal, to say the least and part of her still didn't believe that it had even happened. It was too sudden, too out of the ordinary, and too illogical. It just didn't make any sense. Who would want to attack students from Magnolia Academy? Sure, they were mages and could use magic and there were a few sects in Fiore that were intolerant of magic. But they'd have to have some foreknowledge of the field trip in order to rig an explosion like that. And no non-magical people worked at Magnolia Academy. The explosion, then, had to be magical in origin.

But why? What was the point of it? They were just students - nothing special about them at all, except maybe Natsu who was a Fire Dragon Slayer and could eat fire. But, even with Natsu having rare magic, they were all students and they were just hopelessly normal. There was no reason why anyone could attack them, or why anyone would want to attack them. Lucy didn't believe it could be because of her Heartfilia name, either. As far as she was concerned, she was just a regular student now, and with the tumultuous relationship that existed between her and her father, her last name didn't hold as much value.

It just didn't make sense, Lucy thought. Why us?

"Luce, you okay," Natsu whispered, as the door swung open and the professors and guild masters walked in.

"Not really," she whispered back, her lips pulling into a small smile when Natsu scooted a little closer to her. "How are you not bothered?"

"We're mages, Luce. Unexpected things happen all the time," he answered with a grin. "Besides, nobody died. We're all safe and back at Magnolia Academy. There's nothing to worry about."

She hummed, eyeing him doubtfully but didn't verbally argue with him. He could believe in his words all he wanted, but they weren't of any comfort to her and she couldn't believe in them either. There was something very deliberate about that explosion and it didn't feel like a coincidence or that it was unrelated to them. It felt more calculated than that. But, perhaps she was just imagining things and getting too worked up over nothing. Was it not better to be cautious than to be carefree, especially in a situation like this one? There was something undeniably fishy about the explosion. She could feel it.

"First and foremost, are all of you brats okay," Professor Makarov, who was also the guild master of Fairy Tail, asked. "Good." A pause and then, "Professor Shiori informed us, of the rather alarming situation you were all involved in and it is a cause for concern. However, I don't want you brats to stress over it. You all are students, and delving further into this issue is not something that any of you should concern yourselves with. However, we believe that it is pertinent that you all take precautions, and be a little more alert and wary. That is all."

They were quickly dismissed after that. Most of the kids in the class immediately fled the building, but a few - most notably Lucy, Natsu, Gray, Juvia and Gajeel - lingered in the hallway. Lucy felt a little guilty for eavesdropping on the conversation, but she was glad that she wasn't the only one who was eavesdropping. She determinedly ignored the guilt, pushing it to the back of her mind. It hadn't even been her idea to eavesdrop - it had actually been Natsu's. She had started making her way toward the stairs when he had grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to the door, pressing his index finger to his lips in a clear "shushing" gesture. The two had quickly been joined by Gray, and then Juvia. Gajeel had only tagged along because he was reluctant to return to Fairy Tail on his own, and he didn't want to leave Juvia alone with people that he didn't completely trust yet. Juvia was a capable mage, no one could doubt that, but it didn't sit right in his stomach to leave her with just the three Fairy Tail members. Fairy Tail members whom Juvia didn't know very well, despite the fact that they were part of the guild.

The quintet crowded around the door, pressing their ears to the door. Well save for Gajeel who was standing off to the same with his arms crossed over his chest and irritatingly smug, smile on his pierced face. Lucy barely spared him a glance as Gray pressed closer to the door, shoving Lucy to the side and right into Natsu who shifted a little so that she was wedged between him and the door.

"Tell us everything that happened, Shiori," a stern, no-nonsense yet slightly arrogant voice said.

"I told you about everything leading up to the explosion, Professor Erik. I don't know what more you want me to say," Professor Shiori answered, sounding exasperated and Lucy could just imagine the professor rolling her eyes. It seemed like she was hesitating. "I thought that something might be suspicious. The runes engraved on the rubble didn't look right - they didn't match ordinary protection runes. Then it exploded."

"Do you recognize the runes?" It was Professor Bob who asked this question, and Lucy pressed herself a little closer to the door, her cheeks warming as Natsu pressed closer too.

"Yes," Professor Shiori replied after a beat. "They were runes that Zeref was particularly fond of - dark runes, mind you. I recognized only a few of the runes, because they are so old and ancient. But they were also runes that were mostly found in Zeref's books."

"It can't be Zeref," an older voice said, one that Lucy didn't recognize but thought it might belong to Lamia Scale's guild master.

"And yet, who else could it be?" Professor Shiori asked the question rhetorically. "The runes carry a lot of magic within them, that's true but a novice couldn't possibly cast them. No one could cast them on accident either. It was very deliberate."

"Zeref is dead," Professor Makarov said, although he didn't sound too sure.

"Maybe he is not," a different voice said. This voice was more masculine sounding and younger, and held a soothing timbre that set Lucy at ease. But not Natsu - no, she could practically feel Natsu's scowl, and his skin burned scorchingly hot against her back. "It could always be followers of Zeref, doing things in his name to try and keep him alive."

"Who's that?" Lucy whispered.

"Jura," Natsu growled. "He's one of the Ten Wizard Saints."

"And you don't like him?"

Natsu didn't answer her. In the midst of their talking, the the quartet had missed the question that one of the professor's asked.

But they all heard Jura answer it, "Tartaros."


	7. Chapter Seven

"What the hell is Tartaros," Lucy groaned, staring at Natsu.

"Gramps said that we shouldn't concern ourselves with it, and it involves Zeref so it's best to leave it be," Natsu answered, uncharacteristically diplomatic and levelheaded.

It irritated her that he didn't appear very bothered by their lack of knowledge. It didn't even seem like he cared honestly. Since Zeref was involved though, that explained a lot. Natsu held nothing but loathing for Zeref, because Zeref's actions had hurt _so_ many people. She couldn't blame him for his dislike of Zeref, but that didn't mean Natsu wasn't irritating her. She didn't like being left in the dark, especially not when it came to something like this. Something that could have killed them if they had been too close.

"Just focus on being able to protect yourself, Luce," Natsu said, tossing his arm over his eyes as they lounged outside. "Anything involving Zeref is pointless. He's dead, isn't he?"  
Lucy hummed, turning the page in the book she was reading. Maybe Natsu was right, but she didn't think she could just back off. She didn't want to be ignorant. There had to be a reason that it had happened to _their_ class and not any of the other classes who had gone on field trips before they had. Their class had been specifically targeted, Lucy guessed. But why? That was something that she hadn't yet figured out, and probably wouldn't figure out since Natsu was insistent that she stay out of it.

She couldn't understand why he didn't want to get more involved. This was Natsu, after all. He was typically hotheaded, impulsive, and had no sense of boundaries. Yet suddenly when it comes to this Tartaros or Zeref, he wants nothing to do with it and he doesn't care. It was maddening.

"I just don't like knowing things," she muttered, flipping a page in the book.

"I know. But if it involves Zeref, it's better to stay out of it. Right?" He tipped his head back, arm falling to his side as he stared up at her.

"When did you become so reasonable?"

"One of us needs to be," he narrowed his eyes at her. "You got injured on our first job together, and then there was the explosion on the field trip. You're a magnet for trouble, Luce."

"So," she hesitated as she tried to find the right words. "You're trying to protect me?"

"Something like that," he grunted, looking away from her.

Lucy smiled, staring down at his face and noting that his cheeks were slightly pink, although it was hardly noticeable. She was always stunned when Natsu was acted unexpectedly sweet, because it was such a contrast to how he normally was. It also showed that maybe he wasn't as oblivious to things as everyone else thought he was, too. Lucy turned her attention back to her book, her brows furrowing as she read more about Celestial Spirit magic. More specifically, about a Star Dress.

' _A Celestial Spirit Magic Spell in which the user incorporates the power of a Celestial Spirit into their body by placing the key of the Spirit in question on their chest. The power manifests itself in the form of a wardrobe change (similar to Requip), in this case in the form of a dress centered around the Spirit in question's own wardrobe. Also, the user, by adopting the powers and appearance of the Spirit they choose, also adopts a portion of their powers, being able to make use of their Magic. This adoption of power, however, is not limited solely to the Spirit's Magic, but also includes their Magic Power itself, which allows the user to make use of spells of their own that may require more than one person due to the tremendous amount of Magic Power required to cast it.'_

Lucy turned the page, continuing to read about the Star Dress and the different ones that were available. Blissfully, she was able to read for half an hour before Natsu whined that he was bored and hungry. So reluctantly, she bookmarked the page she had been on and headed to the cafeteria with Natsu. She wouldn't admit it, but she was hungry too. The cafeteria was bustling with activity, as it usually was, and conversations were abundant and loud creating a cacophony of noise that had Lucy shaking her head with a small smile. Of course the majority of the noise was coming from a group of Fairy Tail mages, clustered near the center of the cafeteria. Lucy could make out Gray, Erza, Gajeel, Juvia and Wendy, amongst the crowd of Fairy Tail mages gathered around three tables which had been pushed together. There were a few other familiar faces that she recognized, but she couldn't quite recall their names.

After grabbing their food, Natsu and Lucy headed over to their guildmates, sitting near Gray, Erza, Wendy, and Juvia. Gajeel was standing sentry at the end of the table, a scowl present on his face as the other half of the table got pretty rowdy, their voices escalating until they were shouting at each other. Beside her, Natsu winced and Lucy glanced at him, noting that Wendy had also flinched.

"What's wrong?" Her voice was low as she spoke to Natsu. "Natsu?"

"They're just a little too loud," he muttered, shaking his head as if to clear ringing from his ears. "Dragon Slayers have stronger senses than normal humans or mages do," he offered as an explanation to her confused look because she hadn't honestly thought that they were being that loud.

"Oh," she mumbled, realization in her voice. "Do you want to move somewhere else?"

Natsu shook his head, "It's not that big of a deal, Luce. It's just irritating, and I'll kick their asses later if they don't stop."

Gray snorted, "You could try, Flamebrain. I don't think you can beat Cana, Freed, Evergreen, etcetera that easily."

"Freed and Evergreen don't count," Natsu insisted with a roll of his eyes. "They're teaching assistant's."

"So is Cana," Gray pointed out.

Natsu huffed, "Fine then Cana doesn't count either, Icicle Butt."

Lucy shook her head as the two dissolved into an argument which consisted of a lot of name-calling. She hadn't thought that they would get into an argument with Erza so close, but it seems they had temporarily forgotten Erza's presence. Erza was staunchly ignoring the two, which was made easier since the two hadn't gotten to physical blows - _yet_. Lucy furrowed her brows, her eyes darting to Erza as the red-haired woman slowly, morosely ate a piece of strawberry shortcake. That in and of itself was unusual - Erza loved strawberries! It was worrying, how she ate her cake almost unhappily and without the usual Erza gusto.

"Erza, what's wrong," Lucy asked quietly, leaning toward the scarlet-haired girl, so the others couldn't hear. She was pointedly ignoring the fact that the Dragon Slayers at the table could eavesdrop if they wanted to.

Erza looked up, her face unreadable. She attempted a small, smile although it was obviously a fake one. "Nothing."

"Erza," Lucy sighed.

"It's nothing that you need to worry about, Lucy. Just personal problems," Erza said, her voice stony and in a tone brokering no argument.

Lucy leaned back, a frown on her features and her brown eyes shimmering with concern. "Alright."

But it was clear that she didn't believe Erza. She couldn't continue to pursue the subject, because it was blatantly obvious that Erza didn't want to talk about it. So, reluctantly, Lucy let the subject dropped and turned her attention back to Gray and Natsu who had settled on glaring each other, instead of arguing.

"Hey, Lu," a familiar, bubbly voice said, and Lucy grinned as a tiny blue-haired body settled itself on her other side. "Did you hear that the professors are considering suspending certain guild privileges?"

"What?" Natsu and Gray shouted, while Lucy tilted her head to the side and said, "No. What privileges are they considering suspending?"

Levy tapped her fingers on the table, looking nervously around the table and her eyes briefly lingered on Gajeel. "They're considering suspending guild jobs, and guild field trips. Actually, they're considering suspending _all_ field trips and _all_ off-campus events."

That information got Natsu and Gray up in arms. They were ranting and raving, and complaining about that and hoping that the professors would see sense. Lucy could only sigh as she listened to them. She understood that they still wanted to go on jobs and they didn't want to be restricted from doing "fun" things, but on the other hand it was all about being sensible. What happened to Natsu being sensible? It wasn't too long ago that he had been saying that she should be cautious, but when it came to him, it seemed that he threw all that caution out of the window.

"Don't yell at me," Levy hissed. " _I'm_ not the ones who make the decisions. I just overheard it. The professors will probably talk it over with the student body president and the student council, so if anything you should be talking to Erza since she's student body president and student council president."

That turned their attention to Erza, but they didn't actually pursue the subject with her because once she had noticed them, she had given them a glare that warned them to back off. Gray and Natsu sat back in their seats, practically quaking in fear and Lucy held her hand up to her mouth to disguise her smile.

 _Those two_ , she thought as Gray and Natsu started to argue again. _But the situation must be more serious if the professors are considering banning all outside activities_ , Lucy realized. Natsu knocked into Lucy as Gray shoved him and she let out a small shout.

"Sorry, Luce!"

 **~8~**

Lucy sighed as she sank into the mattress, her skin a little cold and her hair still damp from her shower. Dinner had not ended well and had quickly become chaos. _When did chaos not involve Fairy Tail,_ she thought wryly. _It's like the two terms are interchangeable and synonymous_. Dinner had escalated into a food fight which was why she had to head home right away and take a shower, and then she was just too lazy to actually head out of her dorm so she decided to lie down. The peace and quiet would get her to think about Tartaros and the professors, who seemed very worried about Tartaros.

The door slowly opened, and Levy stumbled into the room, looking extremely exhausted. "What happened," Lucy asked.

"Lamia Scale threw a party," Levy yawned. "Invited most of the guilds including Fairy Tail, and you know how Fairy Tail isn't one to say 'no' to a party."

"True," Lucy agreed, as Levy flopped onto her bed. "Does everyone else know about what the professors want to do?"

"With suspending some of the activities that guilds can do," Levy checked. Lucy made an affirming noise. "Yeah, and like Natsu and Gray, they aren't happy. But the professors are just trying to protect us, so there isn't much that they can do." Levy sat up, crossing her legs and looked at Lucy. "They're even recalling all of their students that are studying abroad."

"What students have gone abroad," Lucy asked, curiously.

"Sherria Blendy. She's a Sky God Slayer, and one of Wendy's friends. Um, there's also Ultear, she's Gray and Lyon's sister, and there's Lisanna Strauss," Levy listed off. "There's also a few more Fairy Tail members like Laki and Max."

"Lisanna? She's Mira's sister, right?"

"And Elfman's," Levy nodded. "Yeah. She's the youngest Strauss sibling, and like Mira and Elfman, she's also a member of Fairy Tail. Sherria, is a member of Lamia Scale and Ultear is a member of Crime Sorcière. I don't think you've heard of them though." Lucy shook her head. "Crime Sorcière is an independent guild that specifically seeks to eradicate all evil done by Dark Guilds or Zeref. A lot of the members are former members of Dark Guilds. Crime Sorcière works more closely with the government than a lot of the other guilds, including ours, do. Their missions are also a lot more difficult and require more subtlety, and are longer-term."

"So they are kind of like secret agents or something for the government," Lucy asked. "Like what you'd see in the movies?"

"Kind of," Levy agreed. "It's hard to describe Crime Sorcière, but just know that they're different than Lamia Scale, Sabertooth, Fairy Tail, etcetera."

"Got it," Lucy said with a nod.

The two talked for a little while longer and for now, Lucy temporarily forgot about Tartaros.. It was in the middle of one conversation that Levy fell asleep, and not long after that Lucy fell asleep as well. Unbeknownst to either of them, the window cracked open and someone climbed through it and into the room, landing on the floor with a soft thud. The figure settled himself on the bed next to Lucy, his warm weight pressing comforting against her back before he, too, fell asleep.

* * *

 ** _End of chapter notes:_**

 _I'm in the process of writing so many fanfictions, that it isn't even funny. I've made some good progress on this one, on the Ouran High School Host Club fanfiction I'm writing but haven't published, on my Harry Potter fanfictions-kinda, and I'm working on a Divergent fanfiction. I'm awful...Sorry. But I don't think I'll publish the other ones until I get this one done or get the other ones done, because I'm kind of bad at constantly going on hiatus without warning. (I blame writer's block for that.) But don't fear, if there are extended updates between chapters, and I don't want to put out a chapter I'm not happy with. I'm not abandoning this fanfic. I have no intentions to abandon any of my fanfics, actually. So, yeah. Updates will come. They may be slow but they'll come. Also thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter._


	8. Chapter Eight

When Lucy woke up in the morning she screamed. Why? Because there was someone else lying in her bed and it scared her. Until she realized just who it was, of course and then anger surged through her body as she glared at the sleeping body of Natsu Dragneel. It shouldn't have surprised Lucy that he was in her bed - really, it shouldn't. But it did, and it made her irate. _He has his own bed_ , she thought angrily, _so why can't he sleep in it? Why does it always have to be my bed?_ She crossed her arms over her chest, glaring at him. But somehow, she didn't have the heart to shove him onto the floor. Even though she should. She really, really, should. But she didn't, because in his sleep Natsu just looked too adorable.

She'd yell him when he woke up.

Lucy huffed as she slid out of the bed, jostling Natsu a little as she shoved him away from her in her haste to get up. Natsu mumbled in his sleep, rolling over onto his back and Lucy froze. Another mumble and then he settled, breathing evenly still, thankfully, asleep. Oh Mavis, I must be crazy, Lucy thought. _It shouldn't matter whether I wake him up or not. He's the one trespassing. So why can't I find it in myself to wake him up? Why am I being nice?_ Lucy sighed as she wandered over to the dresser and grabbed some clothes, before heading into the bathroom. She came out of the bathroom, her pajamas bundled in her hands and her brows rose when she saw Natsu sitting up on her bed looking sleepy but awake.

 _Should have just woken him up_ , she thought irritably.

"Hey Luce," Natsu greeted her, smiling warmly. "Why do you look so grumpy?"

"Maybe because someone snuck into my room and more specifically, my bed," she growled narrowing her eyes at him. "Don't you have your own room to go to Natsu?"

"Your bed is more comfy," he explained, smiling impishly when she sighed. "Aw come on, Luce, don't be so grumpy." She just sighed, but didn't verbally answer him. "Lucy," Natsu whined, at her lack of response.

"Get out," she sighed, pointing to the door. "I have homework that I need to do."

"No you don't," Natsu quickly refuted. "We're in most of the same classes, Luce. There's no homework."

"Okay, well maybe I just want some space," Lucy huffed. "I'm tired and I want to sleep, and I'm not in the mood for everyone complaining about what the professors are going to do about the guilds and stuff."

"Same," Natsu shouted. "Everyone is going to be in-insufferable about it." There was a slight stammer as he spoke and Lucy smiled. "But I can't blame 'em. I'm pretty upset about it too."

"They're only trying to protect us," Lucy offered up lamely. "I'm sure they'd feel awful if one of us got hurt, because they weren't being careful enough. It may seem like overkill but they are only trying to protect us."

"Weren't you the one who wanted to know what was going on? What happened to being super nosy, Luce," Natsu asked regarding her suspiciously. "Why are you content to sit back and do nothing?"

"You talked sense into me," Lucy shrugged. "I don't know. It's not like we can change their minds, anyways. They're not going to listen to us."

Natsu scowled and the subject dropped. Lucy was right, though. No matter what they did, there was no way that they would be able to get the professors' decision changed. The professors, upon hearing about Tartarus, had been nervous and they had sounded scared. For Professor Makarov, Bob, and even Jura, to sound nervous and scared didn't bode well for them, and it sent alarm bells ringing in Lucy's head. She still wanted to know what was going on of course, but she couldn't let her greed for knowledge blind her. She needed to keep a levelhead. Besides, she'd find out what was going on eventually.

Blankets rustled on the other side of the room and a head of blue hair popped up from underneath the blankets, brown eyes blinking blearily at Lucy and Natsu. Levy's eyes squinted as she tried to focus before putting on her glasses. Lucy smiled as Levy's eyes grew wide, rapidly flickering between her and Natsu.

"Hey," Levy greeted cautiously, sitting up and drawing the blankets tightly around her. "What are you doing here, Natsu? Lucy, why is Natsu here?"

"I slept in her bed," Natsu answered and Lucy's cheeks flushed as Levy stared at her accusingly. "Why are you so red, Luce?" He leaned close to her, "Are you embarrassed?"

"No," Lucy snapped, jerking away from him and glowering at Levy. "Are all of the students studying abroad coming back today?"

Levy's eyes widened, "Yes!" She jumped out of bed. "Master wanted all of Fairy Tail to be there when Lisanna, Laki, and Max come back. Like a welcome back party. Go! I'll meet you there."

"Okay," Natsu said, grabbing Lucy's wrist and tugging her out of the room as Levy headed to the bathroom to get changed. "C'mon, Luce."

Lucy grumbled obscenities underneath her breath as Natsu dragged her to Fairy Tail. Though she was a member of Fairy Tail, she didn't know Laki, Max, or Lisanna. So, she didn't understand why she absolutely had to be there unless the whole thing was just to show Fairy Tail's camaraderie. But, even still, she didn't see why she had to go - she didn't know the three Fairy Tail members returning. She had only heard of them recently, and because they didn't know her they may not even want her there.

"Don't worry, Luce," Natsu said as if he could read her mind. "Lisanna's going to love you, Luce. She's been so excited to meet you!"

"How does she even know about me?"

"Lisanna and Mira talk to each other often using lacrimas," Natsu informed her. "So, Mira's told her about you, and Lisanna's been waiting to meet you." He nudged Lucy, "There's nothing to worry about."

Lucy only hummed doubtfully. She always grew nervous when it came to meeting new people. She didn't after all, have the best track record. First there had been Bora, who she had been introduced to at a party and he had turned out to be a total creep, and then there had been the overly obsessive Dan Straight, who called her "Lulu" and wouldn't leave her alone. Thankfully, he had transferred schools. Although, upon considering it now, her bad luck with new people seemed to only be with men. Meeting Levy had gone fine, and though the two hadn't hung out a whole lot they had gotten quite close as roomies and even closer when Lucy had joined Fairy Tail. She was fine with Erza, too.

Maybe it was just the guys that she had bad luck with. _That figures,_ she thought wryly. Although Natsu and Gray weren't bad. Maybe she just had sucky luck with guys who were interested in her, when she wasn't interested in them. That must be it, she decided as she and Natsu walked into Fairy Tail's building.

"Is Lisanna back yet," Natsu asked Mira who was standing near the doors.

"No," Mira pouted. She brightened, "She'll be here soon though! Laki and Max are already back if you want to go say 'hi' to them."

"Sure," Natsu said dragging Lucy along as he greeted Laki and Max.

Laki was quiet, but she had a mischievous air to her and she was pretty intelligent too. Max was considerably louder and challenged Natsu to a duel, which had half the guild roaring with laughter since Max had just recently become a B-Ranked mage, and Natsu was preparing for the S-Rank trials. Although, the laughter wasn't meant in a mean-spirited way, and Max laughed along with the guild before saying that there would be a day where'd he would eventually beat Natsu. It seemed a lot of people in Fairy Tail hoped to someday beat Natsu. _Was he really that good of a mage_ , Lucy wondered. _He must be._ But he certainly didn't look it. Natsu sat at one of the emptier tables, ordering his usual food - several hamburgers, fries, hot sauce, chili macaroni and cheese, and a burrito. Lucy, got a water and grilled chicken with sweet and savory peanut sauce. She wasn't that hungry. Knowing Natsu, he'd order at least ten more things before the afternoon.

"Hi Lu," Levy sang, sitting beside the blonde, and eyeing Natsu as he eagerly bounced in his seat as he waited for his food to come. "Is he hungry?"

"He's always hungry, isn't he," Lucy questioned rhetorically, and Levy nodded. "Is Lisanna on her way?"

"No idea," Levy shrugged. "But since Mira's still standing by the door, I'd wager that yes she's on her way, but it'll probably still be awhile before she gets here." Levy peered around, "Where's Erza? And Gray?"

"Ultear came back this morning, so that's probably where Gray is," Natsu mumbled. "Or he's avoiding Juvia. One of the two."

"And Erza?" Levy pressed. Then her eyes widened, "Crime Sorcière is on campus, right?"

Natsu shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe."

"You're not helpful Natsu," Levy huffed.

"I knew where Gray was!"

Levy just rolled her eyes, and turned back to Lucy. "I guess you wouldn't know either," she muttered. "I guess it doesn't matter."

"Levy," Lucy murmured concerned.

Levy didn't answer, and turned the conversation to Ultear and then eventually Lisanna. Ultear, was Gray's sister, and also Lyon's sister. She had been studying abroad for three and a half years, and according to Levy, the relationship between the two siblings was quite rocky, something Lucy already sort-of knew given how she had seen Gray and Lyon react on the field trip. But a fierce loyalty still existed between the three siblings, and despite all of their differences they were actually quite close. Although they didn't really show it. But Levy emphasized that they were close, which Lucy found a little hard to believe.

Lisanna's relationship with her siblings was a stark contrast to Gray's relationship with his, Levy had informed her. The Strauss siblings were much more affectionate with each other, and it was much easier to see a bond between the three of them. Apparently, when they had been younger, Lisanna had nearly died and that had strengthened the bond between the Strauss siblings.

"How long has Lisanna been studying abroad," Lucy asked curiously, sipping at her water.

"Like two years," Levy answered. "She was studying in Caelum, and Ultear had been studying in Iceberg. Have you heard of them?"

"No," Lucy mumbled. "A country named Iceberg, really?"

Levy laughed, "Yeah we all thought it was pretty unbelievable and silly, too. But according to Ultear, it's actually a pretty nice country. Caelum is an island country, and Lisanna really liked it there. It was apparently pretty idyllic."

"Really? Interesting," Lucy hummed. "I'm sure that she was disappointed to come back then, if Caelum was really that idyllic."

"I think she's glad to be back," Levy commented, bumping her shoulder against Lucy's. "She'd write letters frequently to the guild and her siblings, and Mira made it sound like Lisanna was really wanting to come back because she missed us. So I'm going to guess that her joy over being back is going to outweigh her sorrow over leaving Caelum."

Lucy nodded just smiling. She couldn't really say anything more on the subject since she didn't know Lisanna that well. Natsu paused in inhaling his food, which had arrived only a few minutes ago, his eyes flickering toward the door.

"Lisanna's back," he muttered, just before there was a shriek of excitement.

Lucy twisted around in her seat, her brown eyes staring at the door. Mira was excitedly embracing a shorter girl with white hair styled into a pixie-cut. Muffled sobs could be heard coming from the two sisters, and Lucy saw Mira tighten her arms around the younger girl, who she knew to be Lisanna. The two pulled away from each other, and Lucy held in a gasp at just how blue Lisanna's eyes were. _She was gorgeous_ , Lucy thought. The sisters chatted animatedly for a few moments, before Lisanna was surrounded by a bunch of their other guild members.

Levy nudged Lucy, "I'm going to go say 'hi', I'll be right back."

Then before Lucy could say another word Levy was darting away and joining the crowd that had surrounded Lisanna. Lucy glanced at Natsu.

"Aren't you going to go say 'hi' to Lisanna, too?"

"Nope," Natsu muttered rather nonchalantly. "She'll eventually come over here, won't she? 'Cause she'll want to meet you and that's when I'll say 'hi'. Besides, I don't really want to shove through the crowd." He wrinkled his nose in distaste, "Too many people."

Lucy smiled, but tried to hide it behind her glass of water. She poked slowly at her food, her eyes every now and then flickering up to look at Natsu. The silence surrounding them was comfortable, and she could feel his foot tapping a light rhythm against hers. It wasn't long until Levy rejoined them, her cheeks a little flushed and her eyes glimmering happily. Not long afterward, Lisanna joined them, taking a spot beside Levy and smiling shyly at Natsu and then Lucy. Up close, Lisanna looked even prettier and it made Lucy feel a little inferior. _Why couldn't my eyelashes be so long,_ Lucy wondered.

"Lucy this is Lisanna," Levy introduced them. "Lisanna this is Lucy."

"Nice to meet you," Lisanna said smiling sweetly.

"You too," Lucy answered in return. "How did you like studying abroad?"

"It was a lot of fun," Lisanna replied. "But I missed my guild, so I guess it's a good thing that I came back." She smiled, "Life isn't the same without Fairy Tail."

"Well we missed you too," Levy cooed, grinning at Lisanna. "Didn't we Natsu?"  
Natsu nodded, mumbling something through a mouthful of food. As soon as he had finished chewing he said, "Yeah." There was an awkward silence for a moment. "Yeah," he repeated.

Lucy glanced between the two, a little confused before she tried to once more engage Lisanna in conversation. But it was stilted and awkward, as if Lisanna didn't know quite what to say to her. Which was understandable since they had just met. But it made Lucy the slightest bit uncomfortable. It felt as if Lisanna didn't like her, which she guessed wasn't exactly the case, but she couldn't help but feel that way.

But the rest of the guild was happy. Because Lisanna was back.

 **~8~**

"Why were you so awkward with Lisanna," Lucy inquired as she and Natsu wandered around the school. "Things seemed really tense."

Natsu shrugged, "No reason."

"Liar."

He huffed, "She confessed to me before she left for her study abroad." At Lucy's surprised look his eyes narrowed a little in a mock-glare, "Is it impossible to believe that someone might like me in that way?"

"No," Lucy denied. "I'm just surprised that you knew she confessed. You seem kind of oblivious, though. No offense! It's just, you seem like you'd be super oblivious even if a girl confessed to."

"It's hard to be oblivious when the girl says, 'I love you', isn't it?"

Lucy nodded, "I guess. So is that why things are awkward between you two."  
"I never answered her back, so probably," Natsu shrugged and stared at Lucy surprised when her affronted stare turned to him and she hit him in the arm. "What?"  
"You never responded?"

"No," he sounded like a petulant child.

"Natsu!"

"What," he whined. "I didn't know I had to respond!" He pouted.

"But it probably hurt her feelings," Lucy explained. "Although, probably not that much, since she and Bickslow appeared to be getting along rather well." She huffed, "Never mind."

Natsu grinned triumphantly, bumping his shoulder against Lucy's and cackling when the blonde stumbled and glared at him.

In the days that followed, normality resumed. Once all of the students studying abroad had come back and the novelty of their return had worn off, things were decidedly normal and boring. Classes resumed as usual, although field trips were definitely taboo, and students began preparing for the evaluation exams. Most notably, the S-Rank exam which was coming up soon. Lucy knew for a fact that Natsu was going to participate in it. For the past couple days, it had been all he was able to talk about it and it was simultaneously adorable and annoying. He was so busy preparing, in fact, that she didn't really see him much. No one actually saw him much, save for Erza and Gray. Erza was an S-Ranked mage, and she was helping Natsu and Gray prepare for the exam. Lucy was only a B-Ranked mage, so she wouldn't be much help to either of them. But, she was content with the way that things were going.

Which of course that meant that everything had to suddenly go to hell. Although, looking back on it now, it could have been a lot worse than what it was. Really, it wasn't anything that major either, but it marked a shift in life at Magnolia Academy. Iceberg and Caelum had been attacked, and not just attacked but practically razed to the ground. Of course, that made Lisanna and a lot of the other students, freak out. _It was a good thing that the students studying abroad were recalled back then_ , Lucy had thought, upon learning about the devastating attacks on Iceberg and Caelum. The attacks on Iceberg and Caelum solidified the professors' - and the Ten Wizard Saints' - decision to halt all off-campus events, no matter what they were. That included the S-Rank exams which usually took place on Tenrou Island. "Under no circumstances were any of the students to go off campus", Jura, one of the Ten Wizard Saints, had told them, "and under no circumstances was anyone from off campus, supposed to come on campus." So, the school was effectively on lockdown.

Most of the student body was of the opinion that the professors and the Ten Wizard Saints were being overly dramatic and overprotective. But after Iceberg and Caelum were attacked, Lucy could see why the professors and Ten Wizard Saints were taking such drastic actions. That didn't mean it wasn't annoying, or anything. It was. But she felt like she could understand it a little bit. That didn't mean that the student body still wasn't extremely irritated, and that didn't mean she didn't find it a little frustrating but she could understand it.

"Lucy," Natsu whined. "I'm bored."

And those were the words that started it all.

* * *

 _I'm currently working on Chapter Nine, but it will probably still be awhile before I can get it out. I want to start working ahead on chapters, so that's probably why it'll take a little longer for Chapter Nine to come out. Nonetheless, I hope that you liked this chapter! Let me know what you think!_


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